NATO is flexing its muscles in front of Russia with the largest air maneuver in its history – Al-Hiwar, Algeria
Today, Monday, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) begins its largest air maneuvers, coordinated by Germany, with the aim of showing the unity of its members in the face of potential threats, especially from Russia. The maneuvers include exercises in the airspace of Germany, the Czech Republic, Estonia and Latvia.
The Air Defender 23 exercise will continue until June 23, and will include about 250 military aircraft from 25 NATO member states and allies, including Japan and Sweden, which are candidates to join the alliance.
About 10,000 people will participate in these exercises aimed at enhancing joint operation, and protection from drones and cruise missiles, in the event of an attack on cities, airports or ports located within NATO territory.
Gerharts said that NATO is determined to defend “every inch” of its territory, adding, “We are a defense alliance, and these maneuvers were planned on this basis,” but he also stressed that he would not send “any aircraft towards the Kaliningrad pocket, for example,” which is the pocket Russia bordering the countries of Poland and Lithuania, two members of the alliance.
However, the US ambassador to Germany, Amy Gutman, confirmed that these maneuvers will have the goal of sending a message, especially to Russia.
She added, “I would be very surprised if no leader in the world noticed what this shows in terms of the spirit of this alliance and what the strength of this alliance means, and this includes Mr. (Vladimir) Putin, the Russian president.”
“We are multiplying our strength through our joint coordination,” Gutman confirmed, noting that there are currently no plans to make the “Air Defender 23” training a regular maneuver, but she also said, “We hope that this training will not be the last.”
In turn, the director of the US Air National Guard, General Michael Loh, saw that NATO’s tasks had become at a “turning point”, and said, “A lot has changed in the global strategic landscape, especially here in Europe.”
He added that the maneuver aims to “complement the permanent presence of the United States in Europe” and provide training “on a larger scale than is usually accomplished on the continent,” explaining that many of the coalition pilots will work together for the first time.
“It’s about maintaining our old relations and building new ones as well, and it’s about establishing what it means to confront a great power in the context of great power competition,” Luo said.
Russia’s war against Ukraine stimulated the Western military alliance that was established nearly 75 years ago to confront the Soviet Union.
Finland and Sweden – which have long maintained official neutrality to avoid any conflict with Moscow – asked to join NATO after the start of the Russian war on February 24, 2022.
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