Report: Air Defende 2023, NATO's largest exercise ever
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| F-16C from the 120th Fighter Squadron, 140th Fighter Wing, Colorado Air National Guard, returns from a mission as part of Exercise Air Defender 2023. |
The Germany-led joint military exercise Air Defender 2023 ended successfully on 23 June. Begun on 12 June, Air Defender involved some 250 aircraft and 10,000 troops from 25 countries, marking the largest deployment of air forces to Europe in NATO history. The goal was to improve the ability of allies to interact, especially in the face of potential threats from Russia.
"The exercise was a complete success, not only from a tactical point of view, but also from an organizational point of view", commented the Chief of Staff of the German Air Force, General Ingo Gerhartz, during a press conference organized at the Jagel Air Base.
"We have demonstrated -he added- that the Allies are capable of moving large quantities of military equipment in a few days and can therefore hold out for a two-week large-scale exercise. Furthermore, there have been no problems for regular air traffic: Thanks to the good planning of German air traffic control, there were no flight cancellations in civilian air traffic and the delays were only a few minutes".
Participating aircraft were mainly deployed at Schleswig-Jagel & Hohn, Wunstorf, Lechfeld, Spangdahlem, Volkel and Čáslav air bases. The three main hubs were Schleswig/Hohn, Wunstorf and Lechfeld.
"The exercise was a complete success, not only from a tactical point of view, but also from an organizational point of view", commented the Chief of Staff of the German Air Force, General Ingo Gerhartz, during a press conference organized at the Jagel Air Base.
"We have demonstrated -he added- that the Allies are capable of moving large quantities of military equipment in a few days and can therefore hold out for a two-week large-scale exercise. Furthermore, there have been no problems for regular air traffic: Thanks to the good planning of German air traffic control, there were no flight cancellations in civilian air traffic and the delays were only a few minutes".
Participating aircraft were mainly deployed at Schleswig-Jagel & Hohn, Wunstorf, Lechfeld, Spangdahlem, Volkel and Čáslav air bases. The three main hubs were Schleswig/Hohn, Wunstorf and Lechfeld.
The exercises were conducted mainly in three airspaces over Germany. The air operations took place over areas that have been used for decades by the German Air Force for routine training. However, they have been expanded for Air Defender 2023 and have been partially connected by corridors. The eastern training area was temporarily set aside for military use between 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM, the southern between 1:00 PM and 5:00 PM, and the northern between 4:00 PM and 8:00 PM.
It was remarcable to see so many American aircraft in a single exercise in Europe. The US portion of the exercise was led by the Air National Guard. A-10 Thunderbolt II, F-15 Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jets have arrived from various ANG units from the United States. The US Navy also participated with F/A-18 Super Hornets and EA-18G Growlers from the CVN-78 Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier. In addition, aircraft from Greece, Hungary, the Netherlands, Romania, the Czech Republic, Turkey and the United Kingdom were involved in addition to the German Luftwaffe.
VIDEO
Text: Alex van Noije and Joris van Boven
Photos: Alex van Noije and Joris van Boven Video: Alex van Noije
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