The Kleibus region of eastern Germany has been occupied by the ground and air forces of the Occasus Alliance. Enemy units are now advancing north to the Baltic Sea with the intention of seizing a port, carrying out sabotage operations and using air-supported special forces. NATO, meanwhile, has activated article 5 of the Treaty and put into collective defense against the enemy.
This is the simulated scenario in which the 25 countries – six of them in the capacity of observers – will exercise their air capabilities, participating since Monday in the Air Defender exercises and which will take place in Germany for ten days.
“It is the largest and most important air defense exercise in the history of NATO,” said the US ambassador in Berlin, Amy Gutmann. The formulation is not entirely true. The deployment of soldiers, combat planes and material that have arrived in Germany in recent weeks for training is unprecedented, but it is not NATO that organized and directs these exercises and not all allies participate in them.
“These exercises – which are not maneuvers – have been initiated and will be directed by Germany,” the head of the Lufwaffe (German Air Force), Lieutenant General Ingo Gerhartz, has declared ad nauseam, to avoid that, with the war in Ukraine as a background, are seen as an act of force or provocation against Russia.
It was not the only precision to the US ambassador regarding exercises that, according to her, “would impress anyone” and have a clear recipient. “I would be quite surprised if some world leader did not take note of what this shows in terms of the spirit of this alliance, what the strength of this alliance means. And that includes Mr. Putin,” Gutmann told a press conference.
Gerhartz has been forced to clarify once again: “The Air Defender exercises are not directed against anyone. We are a defensive alliance and the exercises are designed to be defensive.” The lieutenant general also stressed that NATO airspace will not be abandoned: “We will not carry out any flights to Kaliningrad. We show that NATO territory is our red line, that we are ready to defend every inch of this territory.”
Planning for Air Defender began under German leadership in 2018, when Russia annexed the Ukrainian Crimean peninsula in violation of international law. It was clear that NATO would have to refocus more on national and alliance defense.
Twenty-five countries participate in the exercises -six of them as observers- totaling some 10,000 soldiers and 250 planes including fighters, transport and refueling planes. In the ten days that the exercises will last, some 2,000 military flights will be carried out in a hundred missions that include the fight against drones and cruise missiles, the protection of cities, airports and seaports, as well as direct support to ground troops. The scenario also includes the simulation of the defense in the event of an attack on the port of Rostock and critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea. Training will also be carried out to supply different fighters in places where these models have no other base.
The German Air Force is participating with 64 jets and aircraft, including 30 Eurofighters, 16 Tornados, five A400M transport aircraft and three A330 AAR for refueling, as well as two LJ35s, two A-4s and four light support helicopters (LUH 145). . Spain and the United Kingdom join with Eurofighter, Greece and Turkey with F-16, Hungary with Grippen and Finland with F-18. Various fighters are coming from the other countries, including the successor to the F-35 Tornado, the A-10 warthog, as well as the F-16 and F-15 fighters will go into action. Transport aircraft such as the C-130J Hercules or the threat reconnaissance and attack MQ-9 Reaper will also be used in the exercise. It is the largest deployment of US air forces in Europe since NATO has existed.
The fictional liberation and counter-Alliance Occasus operations will be conducted from 26 locations. More than 200 missions and three composite air operations per day are planned involving the combination of various types of aircraft with different capabilities, such as reconnaissance, tanker and fighters. During the exercises, between 23 and 80 aircraft, depending on the scenario, will participate in a single of these composite air operations, known as COMAO (Composite Air Operation).
In addition, SEAD (Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses) missions will be carried out with the aim of disabling enemy air defenses and aircraft crews will be trained in the use of their electronic combat equipment, particularly for threat situations due to anti-aircraft missiles.
The flights will take place in three closely defined airspaces, which will be used alternately on weekdays. The eastern training area, over Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, part of Saxony and the Baltic Sea, will be the only one reserved for low-altitude flights from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The southern zone, from Bavaria to Rhineland-Palatinate, will be used from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. before giving way to the northern zone over the North Sea, Schleswig-Holstein and Lower Saxony from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Flight altitudes during Air Defender missions in the three training areas range from 2,500 to 15,000 meters and higher. Missions are not normally flown below that altitude. Refueling usually takes place at an altitude of between 3,000 and 10,000 meters.
Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia, Spain, United Kingdom, Czech Republic, participate in Air Defender 2023 , Romania, Sweden, Turkey and Hungary.
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