NATO began on Monday its most important exercise of aerial maneuvers intended to show, by a show of force in central and eastern Europe, the unity of its members, in particular in the face of potential threats from Russia, in the midst of the war in Ukraine.
“The most important signal we send is that we are able to defend ourselves,” the head of the German air force, the Luftwaffe, General Ingo Gerhartz, told public television ZDF. the country coordinates the exercise.
The latter, called “Air Defender 23”, runs until June 23 and will bring together some 250 military aircraft from 25 NATO member countries and partners, including Japan and Sweden, a candidate country for NATO membership. Alliance.
Up to 10,000 people will take part in these exercises intended to strengthen interoperability and protection against drones and cruise missiles in the event of an attack on cities, airports or ports located on NATO territory.
The exercise was conceived in 2018, partly in response to Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea, and is intended as a form of “insurance” for the eastern flank of the Atlantic Alliance, even though it does not specifically target “nobody”, added the head of the German Air Force, during the presentation of the exercise.
NATO is determined to defend “every centimeter” of its territory but it will not send “any flight, for example, in the direction of Kaliningrad”, the Russian enclave which borders Poland and Lithuania, members of NATO, he assured.
“We are a defensive alliance and that is how this exercise is planned,” insisted the general.
But these maneuvers will also aim to send a message, in particular to Russia, explained to the press the ambassador of the United States in Germany, Amy Gutmann.
“I would be very surprised if a 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,” the Russian president, said. she argues.
“By synchronizing ourselves, we multiply our strength,” notes Ms. Gutmann.
Russia’s war against Ukraine has galvanized the Western military alliance created nearly 75 years ago to confront the Soviet Union.
Finland and Sweden, which have long maintained official neutrality to avoid any conflict with Moscow, both asked to join NATO after the Russian invasion of February 24, 2022.
The exercise will include operational and tactical training, mainly in Germany, but also in the Czech Republic, Estonia and Latvia, with a total of 2,000 planned.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will visit pilots based at Schleswig-Jagel airfield in northern Germany on Friday.
For General Michael Loh, Director of the US Air National Guard, NATO missions are at an “inflection point”. “A lot has changed in the global strategic landscape, especially here in Europe,” he said.
The exercise will aim to “supplement the permanent presence of the United States in Europe” and to provide training “on a larger scale than what is usually accomplished on the continent”, adds the officer.
The general clarified that many Alliance pilots would be working together for the first time. “It’s about nurturing the old relationships we have, but also building new relationships,” he said.
“It is about establishing what it means to face a great power in the context of a competition between great powers”, adds this military official.
There are no plans at this stage to make “Air Defender” a regular exercise, Ms Gutmann said. But, she added, “we don’t want this exercise to be the last.”
Asked about potential disruptions to civilian air travel during the exercise, General Gerhartz insisted that planners would do “everything in their power” to limit delays or cancellations. Authorities have nevertheless warned of possible disruptions at major airports in Frankfurt and Berlin.
12/06/2023 14:25:26 – Berlin (AFP) © 2023 AFP
