Takes off on the skies of Germania the air exercise of Nato “Air Defender 23”. They will participate until 23 June over 10 thousand soldiers Of 25 countriesincluding also Sweden e Japan which are not part of theAtlantic alliance. Con 250 aircraft104 of which located only from the US, will be the largest air exercise from the end of Second World War. It is not only aimed at verifying the coordination of maneuvers and communication in potential engagements, passing from refueling, to the experience of the landing and flight areas, but also logistics efficiency of movement and stationing of the various allied air forces in the heart of Europe.
“Air Defender 23” has been planned since 2018, having therefore only present the invasion of the Crimea of 2014 as a still isolated fact: in five years, however, its dimension compared to the suns 50 initial aircraft has been gradually expanded. Today, while it’s running again a war in Europe promoted by Russia, assumes greater importance. The Inspector of the German Air Force Ingo Gerhartz last Wednesday in a press conference he underlined that “it is a defensive exercise”. But he added: “We clearly show what this territory is the red line and we are ready to defend every inch of it”. The ambassador of the United States of America in Germany is more explicit Amy Gutmann: “I’d be quite surprised if any president or head of government in the world didn’t get what he’s reporting on spirit of this Covenant and in reference to its strength, I also include Mr. Putin”.
NATO was born as an instrument of restraint of aggression dell’Soviet Unionbut even if they will be tried only defensive scenariosnow aims to showcase all of its military capabilitiesalso employing AWACS reconnaissance aircraft and from in-flight refueling, reaffirming unity and vigor (and burying the diagnosis of November 7, 2019 by the French president Emmanuel Macron of brain death).
The exercise assumes that an Eastern alliance entered with special forces in Germania and occupied its eastern region. And therefore that i energy supplies are in short supply, are in progress disinformation campaigns and Germany has invoked article 5 of the Treaty, ie the one which states that the NATO states “agree that an armed attack against one or more of them will be considered an attack against all of them”. Among the scenarios that will be tested fast takeoff for intercept enemy aircraft to drive them back or bring them down; cruise missile defense; the safeguarding of ports and infrastructures; the combat of means on the ground; the ejection of airborne pilots and their subsequent evacuation. They won’t be but employ weapons e shooting effectiveness will only be registered with digital equipment.
The planes will take off for at least 1,800 single tactical movements from the military airports of Jagel ed mockery in Schleswig-Holstein, Wunstorf in Lower Saxony, Spangdahlem in Rhineland-Palatinate, location in Mecklenburg Pomerania e Lechfeld in Bavaria. Supportive will also be the basics of Volkel in When e Caslav in Cechia. They have been outlined three flight corridors: northernincluding Schleswig-Holstein and Lower Saxony, but mainly over the North Sea also for low-level flights; Oriental from Saxony to the Baltic Sea; And southern from Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg to Rhineland-Palatinate. They will be deployed in different windows, each of four hours, respectively in the evening between 16 and 20, in the morning from 10 to 14, and in the afternoon from 13 to 17, and there will be no flights on weekends. However, weather conditions may cause timely changes.
In the actual ten days of execution of the exercise there will be more environmental pollution ed acoustic e delays in civilian flights, but General Gerhartz warned that “there is no security at zero price”. The German armed forces yes. I am committed to inform on the maneuvers throughout their duration via social media.
I flight controllers they will have to divert all airliners from sectors closed by the military. According to the air force, the exercises will only partially engage corridors used by civil aviation and will not cause cancellations and the defense ministry assures that Eurocontrol’s simulations only assume possible delays. According to the air traffic controllers’ unions, they will be able to come instead deleted until one hundred flights a day and build up to 50 thousand minutes of delays daily basis. Only passengers flying in the morning will have less inconvenience; the others will have to trust in the extraordinary authorizations introduced for take-offs and landings even at night.
At Wunstorf, close to HannoverSaturday about 300 pacifists from all over northern Germany protested that “Air Defender” is a signal of escalation of the conflict and towards the rearm and they requested the German government to commit to a immediate ceasefire. The leader of the Linke Gregory Gysi he tweeted: “I doubt this superlative show of force will particularly impress the Russian establishment. Even the previous NATO 2021 maneuver did not hold back Putin and invade Ukraine a few months later.” Ambassador Gutmann, referring to a 1951 quote from an American general, instead added: “True security is only when wars are avoided and one can hope to succeed only when you are quite prepared”. Just a week ago in the Baltic Sea NATO had started the “Baltops” maneuver with the participation of one fifty ships Of 19 Nations and simultaneously also the Russia had initiated exercises con forty ships and 3,500 soldiers.