The Drills, Set to Start Next Week,
Are Meant to Prepare for War with Russia
Dave DeCamp / Antiwar.com & The Associated Press
(June 7, 2023) — Germany is preparing to lead NATO’s largest-ever air deployment exercises in a show of force meant as a warning to Russia.
The Air Defender 23 will involve 10,000 personnel and 250 aircraft, including 2,000 US Air National Guard troops and 100 American planes. The drills will be held from June 12-23 and will be held in Germany, the Czech Republic, Estonia, and Latvia.
US Ambassador to Germany Amy Gutmann said the exercises will send a message to Russian President Vladimir Putin. “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.
Lt. Gen. Michael Loh, head of the US Air National Guard, will prepare troops for a great power war. “So this is about now establishing what it means to go against a great power, in a great power competition,” he said.
The drills will simulate a Russian attack on NATO territory and come as the alliance is drawing up plans for war with Russia for the first time since the Cold War. At the upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius this July, NATO members are expected to approve thousands of pages of secret military plans that will detail how to respond to a Russian attack.
NATO Prepares Unprecedented Air
Exercise in Show of Force to Russia
The Associated Press & Defense News
BERLIN (June 7, 2023) — Germany is preparing to host the biggest air deployment exercise in NATO’s history, a show of force intended to impress allies and potential adversaries such as Russia, German and American officials said Wednesday.
The Air Defender 23 exercise starting next week will see 10,000 participants and 250 aircraft from 25 nations respond to a simulated attack on a NATO member country. The United States alone is sending 2,000 US Air National Guard personnel and about 100 aircraft to take part in the June 12-23 training maneuvers.
“This is an exercise that would be absolutely impressive to anybody who’s watching, and we don’t make anybody watch it,” US Ambassador to Germany Amy Gutmann said.
“It will demonstrate beyond a shadow of a doubt the agility and the swiftness of our allied force in NATO as a first responder,” she told reporters in Berlin.
“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,” Gutmann said.
“And that includes Mr. Putin,” she added, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
While the drill was planned for several years, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 ear has jolted NATO into preparing in earnest for the possibility of an attack on its territory. Sweden, which is hoping to join the alliance, and Japan are also taking part in the exercise.
“We are showing that NATO territory is our red line, that we are prepared to defend every centimeter of this territory,” said Lt. Gen. Ingo Gerhartz of the German air force, which is coordinating the exercise. “But we won’t, for example, conduct any flights toward Kalinigrad. So this is intended to be defensive.” Kalinigrad is a Russian exclave located on the Baltic Sea between Poland and Lithuania.
Lt. Gen. Michael A. Loh, director of the US Air National Guard, said the exercise goes beyond deterrence.
“It’s about the readiness of our force. It’s about coordination, not just within NATO, but with our other allies and partners outside of NATO,” he said.
Loh said the exercise would be an opportunity for younger US airmen, many of whom have mainly gotten experience serving in the Middle East, to build relationships with allies in Europe and prepare for a different military scenario.
“So this is about now establishing what it means to go against a great power, in a great power competition,” he said.
Authorities have said the drill will cause some disruption to civilian flights in Europe during the period.
Posted in accordance with Title 17, Section 107, US Code, for noncommercial, educational purposes.
