Exercise Air Defender 23, scheduled for June 12-23, involves more than 220 aircraft and 10,000 participants from 24 nations, including Hungary which has openly refused to deliver weapons to neighboring Ukraine and has called for a ceasefire.
The U.S. contribution will include about 100 U.S. Air National Guard (ANG) aircraft flying into Europe, officials said. The training will revolve around an “Article 5 scenario,” which says that a collective response from the alliance is required when one NATO member state comes under attack.“Our goals for this largest deployment exercise since the foundation of NATO are comprehensive,” explained Lieutenant General Ingo Gerhartz, chief of the German air force, in published remarks. “We want to demonstrate the agility and swiftness of air forces as a first responder and showcase NATO air power.”
The U.S. participation marks its Air Guard’s most significant transatlantic deployment since the 1990–1991 Gulf War when a 39-country military coalition ended the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, confirmed ANG chief Lieutenant General Michael Loh. “This is now putting the alliance together quickly, with a credible force, to make sure that if Russia ever lines up on the NATO border, that we’re ready to go,” he warned Moscow.
The exercise comes as the standoff over Ukraine rapidly evolves into a new Cold War between the West and Russia, which has the world’s largest nuclear arsenal.
Organizers said planes would operate from numerous German sites, the U.S. Air Force’s Spangdahlem Air Base, and locations in the Netherlands and the Czech Republic. Maneuvers also will feature so-called “out-and-back” missions into the Baltic states and Romania, according to NATO’s Allied Air Command, headquartered at Ramstein Air Base in Germany.
The U.S. military said that Air Defender 23 coincides with the U.S. European Command’s Defender Europe series of combat drills until late June. That U.S.-led program reportedly involves 7,800 American troops and 15,000 service members from more than 20 allied and partner nations.
Authorities warned Air Defender 23 would increase air traffic and noise between June 12 and June 24. The NATO alliance said that planners “are hoping” to minimize exposure to aircraft noise over a continent where millions of often traumatized refugees from Ukraine and other war torn nations recall the battles back home.
Those involved in the exercise try to mainly use airspace corridors over “sparsely populated areas,” according to NATO officials familiar with the preparations.
However, noise reduction appeared to be an uphill battle as assets include the arguably loud U.S. Air Force’s A-10C attack plane, F-15C, F-16, and F-35A fighter jets, as well as MQ-9 surveillance and attack drones, C-17 and C-130H cargo aircraft, KC-46, and KC-135 tankers.
According to planners, they’ll be joined by U.S. Navy F/A-18 fighters, NATO E-3 airborne target tracking jets, German A400 tankers, and about a dozen other aircraft types.
Nations participating in Air Defender include Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Finland, France, Italy, Japan, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Romania, Sweden, Slovenia, Spain, Czech Republic, Turkey, Hungary, the United Kingdom and the United States, officials said.
However, participating member Hungary has been reluctant to support NATO’s weapons delivery to Ukraine. Speaking last month at the Qatar Economic Forum, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán warned that Ukraine’s military effort is doomed and sending further aid would only lead to more deaths. “Emotionally, it’s tragic; all of our hearts are with the Ukrainians,” Orbán said. “But I’m talking as a politician who should save lives. There’s no chance to win this war.”
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