NATO launches unprecedented air drill in ‘show of strength’

On Monday, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) will begin what will be the largest air force deployment exercise in Europe in the history of the alliance. This is being done as a show of unity towards partners and potential threats such as Russia.

The German-led “Air Defender 23” exercise will continue until the 23rd of June and will involve approximately 250 military aircraft from 25 NATO and partner countries. These countries include Japan and Sweden, both of which are candidates for membership in the alliance.

The exercises will involve as many as 10,000 people and are designed to improve interoperability and preparedness in the event of an attack using drones or cruise missiles against cities, airports, or sea ports located within NATO territory. The exercises will take place in Europe.

Lieutenant General Ingo Gerhartz of the German Luftwaffe said in his presentation of the plans last week that “Air Defender” was conceived in 2018 in part as a response to the Russian annexation of Crimea from Ukraine four years earlier. However, he emphasised that the initiative was “not targeted at anyone.”

He stated that even though the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation would defend “every centimetre” of its territory, the exercise would not “send any flights, for example, in the direction of Kaliningrad.” Kaliningrad is a Russian enclave that borders the member states of the alliance Poland and Lithuania.

“Since we are a defensive alliance, we have designed this exercise with a defensive focus,” he explained.

Amy Gutmann, the United States Ambassador to Germany, stated that the exercise would demonstrate “without a shadow of a doubt the agility and the swiftness of our allied force.” She also stated that the exercise was intended to send a message to countries including Russia.

“I would be pretty surprised if any world leader was not taking note of what this shows in terms of the spirit of this alliance, which means the strength of this alliance, and that includes Mr. Putin,” she said to the reporters, referring to the Russian president. “This alliance is strong,” she said, referring to the strength of the alliance.

“By cooperating with one another, we are able to increase our power.”

The Western military alliance that was established almost 75 years ago to do battle with the Soviet Union has been galvanised as a direct result of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Following Russia’s invasion in February 2022, both Finland and Sweden made applications to become members of NATO, despite having maintained for a long time an official veneer of neutrality to avoid conflict with Moscow.

An attack on one member of NATO is considered an attack on all of the members, as stated in Article Five of the NATO Charter.

Training on both an operational and a tactical level will be a part of the exercise, which will take place primarily in Germany but also in the Czech Republic, Estonia, and Latvia. On Friday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will travel to the Schleswig-Jagel airfield located in northern Germany to meet with pilots who are stationed there.

According to General Michael Loh, who directs the United States Air National Guard, NATO’s responsibilities have reached a “inflection point.”

He stated, “A great deal has changed on the strategic landscape throughout the world, especially here in Europe,” and he emphasised that this change was especially noticeable in Europe.

“supplementing the permanent United States presence in Europe” and providing training “on a larger scale than what was usually accomplished on the continent” are going to be the primary focuses of the exercise, as stated by Loh.

He indicated that a good number of the alliance pilots would be collaborating with one another for the first time.

He stated, “It’s about fostering the old relationships that we have, but also building new ones with this younger generation of airmen.” “It’s about building new ones with this younger generation of airmen,” he said.

“And so what we are doing here is establishing what it means to go up against a great power in a competition between great powers,”

Although there are no current plans to make “Air Defender” a recurring exercise, Gutmann stated that “We have no desire for this to be the last.”

When asked about the possibility that the exercise could cause disruptions to civilian air transport, Gerhartz responded that the organisers would do “everything in our power” to limit the number of flight delays or cancellations.

The German authorities had previously issued a warning that the drills could potentially disrupt flight schedules.