NATO embarked on the largest air force exercises in the alliance’s history on Monday amid heightened tensions with Russia over the Ukraine conflict.
According to Berlin’s military, the drills – which have been dubbed ‘Air Defender 23’ and are being hosted by Germany – will play out mostly in the nation’s airspace between June 12 and 23, with some operations taking place in the Netherlands and the Czech Republic. The mass exercises will involve some 10,000 service members and 250 aircraft, with 100 planes fielded by the US alone.
Apart from the US, the operation would be attended by 24 other nations, including not only NATO members, but also Sweden and Japan. The focus of the exercises is to optimize and expand cooperation between participating countries, with plans to model a NATO Article 5 assistance scenario. The latter clause, which lies at the heart of the US-led bloc, stipulates that an attack on one member of the alliance would constitute an attack on all of them.
US Ambassador to Germany Amy Gutmann said that she “would be pretty surprised if any world leader was not taking note of what this shows in terms of the spirit of this alliance,” adding that this included Russian President Vladimir Putin.