BERLIN (AFP) – The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) will hold its largest air force exercise in Europe today in a show of solidarity with allies and possible threats including Russia.
The “Air Defender 23” exercise led by Germany will last until June 23. About 250 military aircraft from 25 countries will participate in the exercise, including Japan and Sweden, which is applying for membership.
As many as 10,000 people will take part in the exercise aimed at strengthening “interoperability” and readiness to defend against drones and cruise missiles in the event of an attack on a city, airport or port in NATO territory.
Announcing the exercise last week, Luftwaffe chief Ingo Gerhartz said the Air Defender 23 program had been conceived in 2018, partly in response to Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, but the exercise “was not Not against anyone”.
He said that while NATO was defending “every inch” of territory, the exercise would not “send any flights towards Kaliningrad”.
Kaliningrad is a Russian enclave that shares borders with NATO member Poland and Lithuania.
“We’re a defensive coalition, and that’s how we’ve planned this exercise,” Gerhaz said.
The U.S. ambassador to Germany, Amy Gutmann, said the exercise “will undoubtedly demonstrate the flexibility and agility of our allied forces” and send a message to countries including Russia. (Translator: Zheng Shiyun / Verified manuscript: Chen Zhengyi)
#largest #air #show #NATO #history #feature #military #aircraft #countries #tens #thousands #people #participate
2023-06-12 08:20:04
