Largest-ever aerial war drills will be held by NATO.
April 9, 2023Tweet
NATO is planning to hold its largest ever Air Force exercises this summer, dubbed ‘Air Defender 23,’ which will involve hundreds of aircraft from dozens of nations. The drills are scheduled to take place between June 12 and June 24 and are expected to involve 10,000 soldiers and 220 aircraft from dozens of nations. The US is to supply 100 of the aircraft out of its stocks. The plan of the drills is modeled after an Article 5 Assistance scenario and is aimed at “optimizing” the cooperation between the participating nations and demonstrating the “strength” of the military bloc. A total of 24 nations are to take part in the drills, including Finland, which joined NATO earlier in April.
Sweden, which has yet to join the bloc, will participate in the exercise. The US Air National Guard will provide around half the aircraft used in the German-led exercise in June. The commander of the US Air National Guard, Lieutenant General Michael Loh, maintained that there is no set scenario pitting the NATO forces against a particular adversary during the drills. The German Air Force, Lieutenant General Ingo Gerhartz, said they won't write [Russia] a letter and that they think they get the message. The drills coincide with a separate US-led exercise called Defender Europe 23, which is focused on the strategic deployment of US-based forces, the employment of Army pre-positioned stocks and interoperability with European allies and partners.
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