NATO prepares unprecedented air exercise in show of force to Russia

BERLIN — Germany is preparing to host the most important air deployment exercise in NATO’s history, a show of force intended to impress allies and potential adversaries equivalent to 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 reply to a simulated attack on a NATO member country. The USA alone is sending 2,000 U.S. Air National Guard personnel and about 100 aircraft to participate within the June 12-23 training maneuvers.

“That is an exercise that might be absolutely impressive to anybody who’s watching, and we don’t make anybody watch it,” U.S. Ambassador to Germany Amy Gutmann said.

“It can reveal beyond a shadow of a doubt the agility and the swiftness of our allied force in NATO as a primary responder,” she told reporters in Berlin.

“I can be pretty surprised if any world leader was not being attentive to what this shows when it comes to the spirit of this alliance, which implies the strength of this alliance,” Gutmann said.

“And that features 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 potential for an attack on its territory. Sweden, which is hoping to affix the alliance, and Japan are also collaborating within the exercise.

“We’re showing that NATO territory is our red line, that we’re 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 instance, conduct any flights toward Kalinigrad. So this is meant to be defensive.”

Kalinigrad is a Russian exclave situated on the Baltic Sea between Poland and Lithuania.

Lt. Gen. Michael A. Loh, director of the U.S. Air National Guard, said the exercise goes beyond deterrence.

“It’s concerning the readiness of our force. It’s about coordination, not only inside NATO, but with our other allies and partners outside of NATO,” he said.

Loh said the exercise can be a possibility for younger U.S. airmen, a lot of whom have mainly gotten experience serving within the Middle East, to construct relationships with allies in Europe and prepare for a unique military scenario.

“So that is about now establishing what it means to go against an incredible power, in an incredible power competition,” he said.

Authorities have said the drill will cause some disruption to civilian flights in Europe through the period.