Berlin (dpa) – The largest air force exercise to be conducted in Nato’s history – the Air Defender 2023 manoeuvre – begins this Monday. 25 nations and Nato will take part in the German-led drill, which will continue until 23 June. According to the Bundeswehr, the German armed forces, around 10,000 soldiers and 250 aircraft will be participating in the training exercise. They include 70 aircraft from Germany.
The exercise will directly affect three flight zones in Germany: parts of northern Germany and the North Sea, parts of eastern Germany and the Baltic Sea, and parts of southwestern Germany. The drill will train participants in how the Nato allies could repel a theoretical attack. According to the Luftwaffe, the German air force, the idea for the manoeuvre initially came about in 2018, that is to say before Russia began its war of aggression against Ukraine in 2022. Air Defender 2023 is scheduled to commence with an event at Wunstorf military airfield near Hanover at lunchtime on Monday – the airfield will serve as the logistics hub for the manoeuvre. Luftwaffe inspector Ingo Gerhartz and Lower Saxony’s premier Stephan Weil are also expected to attend.
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