Nato launches biggest EVER aerial war games dubbed ‘Air Defender’ with 250 jets and 10,000 troops in a “show of strength”

NATO launched its biggest ever aerial war games today in a “show of strength” to Vladimir Putin.

The drill dubbed Air Defender 23 will involve an unprecedented 250 aircraft and 10,000 service members from 25 Nato and partner countries – including Japan and Sweden.

A German Tornado and two Swedish Gripen jets takes to the skies over Germany during the unprecedented drills
Three Turkish F-16s take part in the first set of flights on day one of Air Defender 23
An US A-10 Thunderbolt II ground combat plane readies for take-off
Two Airbus A400M planes of the German Air Force land at the Wunstorf Air Base
The drill will involve 10,000 service members from 25 Nato countries
More than 250 aircraft from 25 nations will take part in the Nato war games
Nato is staging a huge show of force over the skies of Germany

The first flights kicked off late morning at the Wunstorf, Jagel and Lechfeld air bases, a Luftwaffe spokesman said.

US Ambassador to Germany Amy Gutmann said the exercise would show “beyond a shadow of a doubt the agility and the swiftness of our allied force” .

She said the huge show of strength was intended to send a message to countries – including Russia.

“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.

“By synchronising together, we multiply our force.”

Lieutenant General Ingo Gerhartz of the German Luftwaffe Gerhartz insisted Air Defender was “not targeted at anyone”.

He said they would not “send any flights, for example, in the direction of Kaliningrad” – the Russian enclave bordering Poland and Lithuania.

“The significant message we’re sending is that we can defend ourselves,” he said.

“We are a defensive alliance and that is how this exercise is planned.”

General Michael Loh, director of the US Air National Guard, said Nato’s duties were at an “inflection point”.

“A great deal has changed on the strategic landscape throughout the world, especially here in Europe,” he said.

The exercise will focus on “supplementing the permanent United States presence in Europe” as well as providing training “on a larger scale than what was usually accomplished on the continent”.

He said many of the pilots were working together for the first time.

“It’s about fostering the old relationships that we have but also building new ones with this younger generation of airmen,” he said.

“And so this is about now establishing what it means to go against a great power in a great power competition.”

Asked about potential disruption to flights during the exercise until June 23, Gerhartz said they would do “everything in our power” to limit delays or cancellations.

A US FA-18 jet takes to the skies today
A Tornado fighter takes off from the Schleswig-Jagel Air Base in Jagel
A Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules plane of the US Air Force in Wunstorf
A soldier stands next to an Airbus A400M taking part in the drills
An Airbus A400M flies over the Wunstorf Air Base in Germany as the drills kick off
German and US jets side by side during the Air Defender 2023 drills
An F-16 fighter jet takes off from the Schleswig-Jagel Air Base in Jagel, Germany
An A-10 Thunderbolt II ground combat plane lifts off from the runway
Some 250 military aircraft will take to the skies in the German-led drills

Source: thesun

Related Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *