Particular weight will be given to the ability to react immediately and especially in the case of activation of Article 5, for a collective reaction in the event of an attack against allied territory.
THE larger air exercise in the history of NATOthe “Air Defender 2023”, will take place in the airspace of Germany from June 12 to 24, with participation 25 member states of the Alliance, including Hellas. Particular weight will be given to the ability to react immediately and especially in the case of activation of Article 5, for a collective reaction in the event of an attack against allied territory. At intervals during the exercise serious problems are expected in commercial flights to and from German airports.
AD23 includes 220 aircraft and 10,000 personnel from 25 NATO member states, under the command of the German Air Force and will be combined with the also German-commanded exercise MAGDAYS 23 and the NATO exercises RAMSTEIN DUST 23 and RAMSTEIN GUARD 23. biggest exercise in terms of participation since the inception of NATO is to demonstrate the agility and speed of our air force as a rapid response force. Furthermore, we as the Luftwaffe show that we can plan, organize and execute such a large exercise. We take responsibility. The cooperation of 25 countries improves our interoperability and enables a reliable deterrence of a potential attacker. The transatlantic dimension – we will have more than 100 US National Guard aircraft – is a solid demonstration of NATO’s cohesion and solidarity,” said Lt. Gen. Ingo Gerharts, chief of the Luftwaffe, underscoring Germany’s importance as a hub for allied defense operations in Europe.
Air forces from Belgium, Bulgaria, Britain, France, Germany, Denmark, Greece, Estonia, USA, Japan, Spain, Italy, Croatia, Latvia, Luxembourg, Norway, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Sweden, Slovenia, Turkey, the Czech Republic and Finland will participate in training scenarios simulating the activation of Article 5, ie collective defense of allied territory. Bases in Schleswig-Holstein, Lower Saxony, Bavaria, Rhineland-Palatinate, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic will be used as hubs and the exercises will take place in German airspace, but also in the Baltic and Romania, with flights “out -and-back’. Operations will last two to four hours a day, during which, for security reasons, no civilian flights will be allowed. Exercises will not take place at night and on weekends.
The first fighter jets have already arrived in Germany ahead of the exercise. Greek F-16s are stationed at Lechfeld, Bavaria, along with American A-10s.
Source :Skai
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