“Arrived in Reality”
Strack-Zimmermann calls for further NATO maneuvers
6/23/2023 7:51 am
It is the largest air force exercise since NATO was founded: the first results of “Air Defender 2023” are available and paint a positive picture. The defense politician Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann also has only words of praise for the maneuvers led by Germany.
The Chairwoman of the Defense Committee in the Bundestag, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, described the major maneuver “Air Defender 2023” as exemplary for the future of NATO. The FDP politician called for further joint exercises to train how to defend one’s own territory against possible attacks by Russia or other aggressors. The role that Germany played as the initiator of the maneuver was felt to be extremely positive by all partners.
“Germany has led in accordance with its geographical location and its economic power and has shown that it has capabilities that its partners can also fall back on,” Strack-Zimmermann continued. “This should also affect all other branches of the armed forces in the future. We have finally arrived in reality.”
At the end of the major maneuver “Air Defender 2023”, the Air Force wants to take stock on Friday morning. At the military airport in Jagel (Schleswig-Holstein), inspector Ingo Gerhartz will report on findings from the exercise and explain what conclusions the participants have drawn from them. The last practice flight was completed on Thursday evening.
“Air Defender 2023” was the largest air force deployment exercise since the founding of NATO and was organized under German leadership. 25 nations with 250 aircraft and about 10,000 soldiers took part. A fictitious scenario was used in the airspace over Germany to train how the western defense alliance reacted to an attack by an eastern alliance and in so doing reconquered areas already occupied by the enemy.
Russian spy ship deployed
Meanwhile, assumptions were confirmed that the Russian military was closely monitoring the exercise. A Russian spy ship was also deployed in the Baltic Sea, as first reported by the “Bild” newspaper.
A spokesman for the Luftwaffe said a reconnaissance tornado from Tactical Air Force Squadron 51 “Immelmann” discovered the Russian spy ship during the ongoing exercise in the Baltic Sea. The maneuver was then adjusted in the area so as not to “disclose the full range of capabilities”. He said, “It shows that we’re being noticed.”
Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg visited the exercise in Jagel on Wednesday. Pistorius said there that freedom and security would have to be worked hard for and, if in doubt, defended, “because the threat to our security is real again.”
The exercise began on June 12 and took a scheduled break over the weekend. The disruptions to air traffic were significantly less than the warning voices had predicted. Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing spoke of a “minimum” of disruptions to civil air traffic. “Civil aviation passed this stress test well,” summed up the FDP politician. The average delay per flight was in the single-digit minute range, his ministry said. The exceptions to the night flight ban that were granted should only have been used very rarely.