NATO: The largest air exercises in the history of the alliance begin – Greece sent its F-16s

From Tuesday 13 June until 23 June, the largest air exercise in NATO history will take place in German airspace. Greece took part in them with F-16 aircraft.

The exercise, which aims to immediately respond to the crisis of the alliance and use Article 5 to collectively respond to an attack on allied territory, will involve 25 countries, 250 aircraft and 10,000 troops.

Lieutenant General Ingo Gerhartz, Chief of Staff of the German Air Force: “These exercises are a signal – first of all, a signal for us, for the NATO countries, but also for our population, that we are able to respond very quickly. We managed to prepare 250 aircraft for deployment so that we can protect the alliance in the event of an attack.”

Problems are expected to arise in civil aviation as commercial flights are banned from time to time. Commercial flight control is an important part of the requirements of the exercise, Admiral Gerhardt acknowledged, explaining that European airspace is one of the busiest in the world. To avoid flight cancellations, German airports have extended opening hours, especially on drill days.

This is the largest NATO exercise in the bloc’s history.

The German Air Force, which will act as host and technical hub, is facing what military analysts say is the biggest challenge in decades. Preparations for the exercises took about four years, and six air bases will be involved in them. The US alone is sending 100 aircraft to Germany, including the F-35 stealth, the alliance’s most advanced fighter, as well as the F-15, F-16, F-18, EA-18, A-10, C-13 and C-17 . And Greece and Türkiye will take part with F-16 fighters.

NATO’s largest air deployment exercise in history began in Germany. The drill involves 25 nations, 250 aircraft and nearly 10,000 personnel over the coming days pic.twitter.com/Ey5Eg9qfEE

— Reuters (@Reuters) June 13, 2023

NATO’s goal is to send a political signal to Russia about its capabilities

Military from Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Estonia, Spain, France, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Luxembourg, Norway, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Sweden, Slovenia , Turkey and the United States will participate in Article 5 Activation Simulated Training Scenarios.

Bases in Schleswig-Holstein, Lower Saxony, Bavaria, Rhineland-Palatinate, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic will be used as hubs, and exercises will take place in German airspace as well as in the Baltic Sea and Romania, with round-trip flights. Operations will last between two and four hours a day, during which, for security reasons, civilian flights will not be allowed. The exercises will not be held at night and on weekends.

Germany will host the largest NATO air exercise over Europe in the alliance’s history, officials said Wednesday. The United States will send 100 aircraft and 2,000 personnel to participate in them.

US Ambassador to Germany Amy Gutmann said the exercise would be an “impressive” show of force against the rest of the world. “These are exercises that will be absolutely spectacular for everyone who watches them, and we are not forcing anyone to watch them,” a US official told reporters in Berlin. “They will demonstrate, beyond a shadow of a doubt, the agility and speed of our allied forces in NATO in as a first responder. I would be quite surprised if any world leader didn’t take note of what this shows in terms of the spirit of this alliance, what the strength of this alliance means. And that includes (Russian President Vladimir) Putin.”

Germans fear escalation

Das Kriegsspiel #AirDefender über Europa und über Deutschland erzeugt nicht mehr Sicherheit, sondern eskaliert die aktuellen Konflikte unter den Atommächten. SIPRI berichtet, dass die #Atomwaffenarsenale wieder zunehmen. STOPPT diesen Irrsinn!https://t.co/Hd2yyeGCi6

— Bernd Riexinger ☮︎ (@b_riexinger) June 12, 2023

The #AirDefender war games over Europe and over Germany do not create more security, but exacerbate ongoing conflicts between nuclear powers. SIPRI reports that #nuclear arsenals are increasing again. Stop this madness!

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