NATO holds largest air exercise in organization's history

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) will begin its largest-ever air force deployment exercise in Europe next week.

According to German and US officials, the Air Defender 23 exercise will take place for 10 days, starting on June 12, with the participation of 220 military aircraft from 25 member states and partner countries. The exercise is led by German forces.

Presenting the exercise plans, US Ambassador to Germany Amy Gutmann said the exercise was purely defensive in nature, reflecting the spirit of alliance and the strength of the bloc.

The exercise will include operational and tactical training, taking place primarily at air bases in Germany and the Czech Republic, Estonia, and Latvia. Lt. Gen. Michael Loh, commander of the U.S. Air National Guard (ANG), said the focus of the exercise is to reinforce the long-term U.S. presence in Europe and provide larger-scale training than previous exercises on the continent.

Lieutenant General Michael Loh said the exercise would cause minimal disruption to civilian air traffic. Meanwhile, German Air Force Commander Ingo Gerhartz said the majority of the approximately 2,000 flights would be over the North and Baltic Seas, so there would be no major noise disturbance to residents.

In addition, the organizers have also made efforts to minimize disruptions to civil air traffic.

According to the plan, about 10,000 soldiers will participate in the exercise, with training contents such as quickly transferring reinforced air forces to Germany in case of conflict.

Due to its central location in Europe, Germany will be a major logistics hub and the main staging area for the NATO exercise. The US will send around 100 aircraft, mostly from the ANG, and 2,000 troops to Europe for the exercise.

The exercise, scheduled to start on June 12 at the Wunstorf air base (Hannover region, Lower Saxony state), focuses on defense and mutual assistance, simulating Article 5 of the NATO Treaty, in which partners commit to come to the aid of one or more NATO members in the event of an armed attack.

According to the current plan, there will be three exercise areas in German airspace, with exercises taking place at different times for about two hours each day.

(Source: vietnamplus)

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