NATO concludes historic air exercises in Europe

2023-06-23 15:38:13, Kosova & Bota CNA

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (KFOR) concluded on June 23 the largest ever deployment of air forces in Europe in what is being described as a show of strength against potential threats such as from Russia.

The German-led Air Defender 23 maneuvers brought together around 250 military aircraft from 25 NATO countries, as well as other allies including Japan and Sweden. The latter has already requested membership in the military alliance.

About 10,000 military service members took part in exercises aimed at increasing interoperability and readiness to defend against drones and cruise missiles in the event of an attack inside NATO territory.

"We wanted to show that these 25 different nations can act together from day one and we succeeded," German air force chief Ingo Gerhartz told broadcaster NTV.

The exercise was a "complete success" at the tactical and organizational levels, Gerhartz said from Jagel Air Base in northern Germany.

Of the 2,000 flights planned, about 1,800 were executed, said Gerhartz, who called this a "record" execution rate for this type of exercise.

Air Defender was conceived in 2018 in part in response to Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine four years earlier, although Gerhartz had previously insisted that these exercises were not "targeting anyone".

On the other hand, the US ambassador to Germany, Amy Gutmann, said the exercise would demonstrate "beyond any doubt the agility and speed of our allied force" and was intended to send a message to several countries, including Russia.

"I would be very surprised if any world leader didn't take into account what this shows in terms of the spirit of this alliance, which means the strength of this alliance, and that includes Mr. Putin," she told reporters. referring to the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin.

Russia's war against Ukraine has intensified the activities of the Western military alliance, created almost 75 years ago to confront the Soviet Union.

Finland and Sweden, which for a long time maintained an official stance of neutrality to avoid any conflict with Moscow, have sought NATO membership after invading Ukraine in February 2022.

Finland joined in April, but Sweden's request has been postponed mainly due to Turkish objections./ REL