An A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft at Air Defender 23 exercise in Germany.
According to AFP, on June 23, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) concluded its largest-ever air force deployment exercise in Europe.
The German-led Air Defender 23 exercise brought together some 250 military aircraft from 25 NATO countries and partner nations including Japan and Sweden, which are keen to join the alliance.
Up to 10,000 servicemen are taking part in the exercise, which aims to enhance interoperability and readiness to defend against drones and cruise missiles in the event of an attack on NATO territory.
"We wanted to show that these 25 different countries can operate together from day one, and we did it," German Air Force chief Ingo Gerhartz told German television channel NTV. Gerhartz called the exercise a "complete success" on an organizational and tactical level.
Exercise Air Defender 23 trains how to rapidly deploy reinforced air forces to Germany in the event of a conflict, recapture captured areas, and practice defense and mutual assistance operations modeled on Article 5 of the NATO Treaty, in which partners commit to come to each other's aid in the event of an armed attack against one or more NATO members.
Three exercise areas in German airspace, where exercises take place at different times for about 2 hours each day.
The three main exercise areas include the Eastern and Northeastern exercise areas with areas on the Baltic Sea and the coastal areas of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern; the Southern exercise area with a corridor running from Lechfeld in Bavaria to the Baumholder exercise area in Rheinland-Pfalz; and the Northern exercise area mainly on the North Sea. Due to its central location in Europe, Germany is a major logistics hub and the main staging area for the exercise.
The exercises are focused on air bases in Germany, but also involve locations in the Netherlands and the Czech Republic./.
According to VNA
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