The largest military maneuver in history

Tomorrow, Monday 12 June, NATO’s largest exercise, “Air Defender 23”, will begin, which will see the participation of 250 military aircraft from 25 countries in German airspace. The goal is to prepare for conflict in Europe. or better, The Air Defender 23 exercise will see 10,000 participants and 250 aircraft from 25 countries respond to a simulated attack against a NATO member state. The United States alone is sending 2,000 members of the US Air National Guard and about 100 aircraft to take part in the June 12-23 training exercise.

What will happen in the next few days

The United States, Germany and Turkey will also participate in the defensive military exercises, which will be held from June 12 to 23. “The forces of 25 countries are ready to start these military exercises on Monday,” German Air Force Commander Lieutenant-General Ingo Gerhartz told a news conference. Areas of operations, tactics and logistics – everything had to be as realistic as possible in German airspace. Some experts and observers define, in short, the NATO exercises as a simulation of World War III.

The exercise is modeled on the scenario of NATO assistance under Article 5. Under Article 5, NATO countries “agree that an armed attack against one or more of them, in Europe or North America, shall be deemed an attack against all.”

Amy Guttmann, the US ambassador to Germany, explains that the Air Defender 23 program had been planned for years, but the Russian invasion of Ukraine only made it more urgent. “This is a very impressive exercise that anyone can watch and will undoubtedly demonstrate the agility and speed of our allied forces. I would be quite surprised if no world leader takes note of what this demonstrates in terms of the spirit of this alliance, and of the strength of this alliance. And that includes Mr. Putin,” she concludes. Amy Gottman.

The German military has warned that massive air force exercises could affect civilian flights of civilian airlines, with restrictions or delays in Germany. But they are progressing Improve processes and procedures to reduce impact on civil air traffic.

Map of the NATO Air Defender 2023 exercise

The three main focuses of Exercise Air Defender 23 are Schleswig/Hon, Wenstorff and Lichfeld. The exercises will mainly take place in these three airspaces over Germany. These areas have been used for decades by the Teutonic Air Force for routine training. However, they were greatly expanded for Air Defender 23, and connected in part by air corridors.

The following countries participate: Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey United Kingdom, United States.