Over 250 military aircraft from 25 nations taking part in joint operations in German, European airspace
BERLIN
NATO allies are conducting air combat exercises in Germany for a second day on Tuesday, responding to a simulated military attack by OCCASUS – a fictitious eastern alliance.
Over 250 aircraft and 10,000 military personnel from 25 nations are participating in the “Air Defender 2023,” which is the largest deployment exercise in NATO’s history.
On the first day of the exercise, NATO allies conducted over 140 flights from several air bases across Germany and carried out air maneuvers over the North Sea and the Baltic Sea.
Air combat exercises are continuing today with missions to be carried out by F-16 fighter jets, Eurofighter, and Tornado fighters, A400M tankers, and C-130 transport aircraft.
The German Air Force is leading the command, and coordinating the air operations.
The US has sent over 100 aircraft and 2,000 military personnel to Germany for the exercise.
NATO fighting OCCASUS alliance
The Air Defender 2023 is based on a fictitious geopolitical scenario, in which the fictitious eastern alliance OCCASUS is attacking Germany, its forces moving north to the Baltic Sea to take possession of the port of Rostock.
In response to sabotage operations, and the use of special forces supported from the air, Germany requests NATO’s help, and the Western alliance triggers Article 5 of the NATO treaty.
German Air Force chief Lt. Gen. Ingo Gerhartz had said earlier that the exercise was not a response to Russia’s war on Ukraine, and it was first proposed by Germany in 2018 and planned out in subsequent years.
“We are a defensive alliance, and in the event of an attack, we are prepared to defend NATO territory, and we simply have to demonstrate this,” he told the public broadcaster RBB on Monday.
