The multinational Air Defender 23 exercise, led by Germany, is the largest deployment of air forces in NATO history, and a clear signal of military might directed at the Kremlin.
#AirDefender23 hat begonnen. Die größte Verlegeübung seit Gründung der @NATO unter 🇩🇪 Führung.
25 Nationen❗️
250 Luftfahrzeuge ❗️
Über 10.000 Soldaten ❗️
Airpower‼️
Let's do it 😎🤙#StrongerTogether pic.twitter.com/BLSC45h2fi— Team Luftwaffe (@Team_Luftwaffe) June 12, 2023
From June 12 to 23, the purpose of Air Defender 23 is to exercise air operations with allied and partner air forces. The aim is to optimize and expand cooperation between participating nations.
In total, some 10,000 military personnel and 250 aircraft from 25 different countries are participating in Air Defender 23, deployed at a multitude of air bases around Germany.
“With exercise Air Defender 23, we are opening a new chapter in transatlantic history,” said Lieutenant General Ingo Gerhartz, Chief of the German Air Force at a press conference for German and American journalists in the United States in early April.
The exercise-which Germany began planning in 2018-is based on a collective defense scenario also known as an Article 5 scenario in which the Allies deploy their air forces in Germany to fight hybrid occupation forces of a fictitious opponent.
In coordinated combined operations, allied air forces demonstrate that they are capable of defending NATO territory with decisive and rapid action. The exercise’s large-scale operations involve nearly 10,000 personnel and more than 250 aircraft from 25 nations and NATO.
The U.S. air forces deployed to Germany are mostly Air National Guard units from 42 U.S. states. The bulk of the participating forces operate from three German Air Force bases and others fly from their home bases.
Approximately 2,600 Airmen and around 100 aircraft from 42 states are arriving in locations across Germany in preparation for exercise #AirDefender23.#AD23 is the largest air forces deployment exercise in @NATO history and a demonstration of transatlantic solidarity. pic.twitter.com/WaifmyJqFt
— Air National Guard (@AirNatlGuard) June 10, 2023
Germany’s ability to receive and host large contingents of aircraft at its airfields allows, among other things, to test the U.S. Agile Combat Employment concept that facilitates short-term, round-trip deployments. Last but not least, Air Defender is an important demonstration of NATO’s deterrence and defense capabilities in the Euro-Atlantic area, serving to reassure the public about Allied cohesion and commitment.
According to Lieutenant General Gerhartz, Chief of the German Air Staff, with the planning, organization and execution of Air Defender 2023 Germany is responding to the call to assume greater responsibility in the field of global security.
