CNN
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As the first phases of Ukraine’s counteroffensive against Russian invaders unfold on the battlefield, hundreds of warplanes from some of Kyiv’s biggest supporters are in the skies over Germany as NATO holds the biggest aerial war games ever.
“Air Defender 2023” brings together 250 aircraft – including 190 fighter jets – and 10,000 troops in drills designed to improve the alliance’s readiness and ability “to defend against aircraft attacks, drones and missiles on cities and critical infrastructure,” according to a NATO. press release.
Although the German-led exercises have been in the works for years, their timing comes as Moscow unleashes punishing airstrikes on Ukrainian cities as part of the current 16-month invasion of Its neighbors sent a timely message, especially to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Early Tuesday alone, Russian missiles struck the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih, killing at least 11 people and injuring 28, according to Oleksandr Vilkul, head of the Kryvyi Rih city’s military administration.
Three more people were killed in the Black Sea port city of Odesa after Russia fired four “Kalibr” cruise missiles, according to Ukraine’s Operational Command in the South.
Andriy Dubchak/AP
Emergency workers inspect a damaged multi-story apartment building due to the latest Russian rocket attack in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine, on June 13.
Since the Russian invasion began in February 2022, NATO’s concern is that the devastation caused by Moscow in Ukrainian cities could spill over beyond the country’s borders.
NATO members’ military support for Ukraine, including tanks, armored vehicles and other weapons used in the current offensive in Kyiv, has often raised threats of retaliation from Russia.
The alliance members plan to provide Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets of the same type participating in the current war games.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was formed after World War II to protect Western countries from the Soviet Union and the alliance contained a mutual clause in which an attack on any member was considered an attack. attack everything.
Gregor Fischer/AP
An F-16 fighter jet takes off from Schleswig-Jagel Air Base in Jagel, Germany, on June 12 during the Air Defender 2023 exercise.
NATO countries say Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine makes the defense clause more important.
“Air Defender is needed because we live in an increasingly dangerous world. As we face the biggest security crisis in a generation, we are united to keep our countries and our people safe,” said NATO spokesperson Oana Lungescu in a statement.
“I would be shocked if any world leader didn’t pay attention to what this shows in terms of the spirit of the alliance, which means the strength of this alliance, and that includes Mr. Putin,” the United States Ambassador to Germany that Amy Gutmann said before training began.
“NATO territory is the red line and we are ready to defend every inch of it,” Lt. gen. Ingo Gerhartz, the chief of the German air force, told CNN’s Nic Robertson.
That NATO territory includes five members who participated in the exercises bordering Russia – Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Two of them – Estonia and Latvia – will host small parts of the drills.
Other participants are NATO members Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States, including the NATO applicant. Sweden and Japan, which increased its relationship with the alliance.
Fighter planes include US F-35 stealth jets and F-15s; F-16 from the US, Turkey and Greece; Eurofighters from Spain and the UK; German Tornado; US and Finnish F/A-18s; Hungarian Gripens; as well as the US A-10 ground-attack jet.
Karl-Josef Hildenbrand / photo alliance / Getty Images
Two US Air Force A10 fighter jets taxi to the runway ahead of Air Defender 2023.
That’s a large number of participants and aircraft that could present coordination difficulties in any actual conflict. But analysts say is what makes the Air Defender so important.
It’s “accurately captured the hodge-podge of weapons systems designed by different countries that need to work together as part of an air defense campaign,” said Brynn Tannehill, an analyst at the think tank. RAND Corp. tank. and a former US Navy pilot.
The pilots involved also noted the importance of practice.
“Training like this is important because in the next conflict where we may be called upon to defend NATO, it will not be practiced,” said Maj. Adam Casey, a US A-10 pilot.
Tannehill said exercise planners were able to incorporate real-time scenarios from the conflict in Ukraine into training.
“This shows some of the tactical problems that Ukraine has seen, such as missile interception and tactical air support of troops,” he said.
Peter Layton, a fellow at the Griffith Asia Institute and a former Royal Australian Air Force officer, said Air Defender 2023 should give Russian military planners a lot to think about.
Harald Title/AP/File
A US F-35 fighter jet flies over the Eifel Mountains near Spangdahlem, Germany, in February 2022. Similar aircraft are participating in Air Defender 2023.
“The scale of the exercise and the complexity of the training are beyond the capabilities demonstrated by the Russian air force in Ukraine. The exercise is evidence of highly sophisticated air power capabilities that the Russians have never seen before ,” he said.
Overall, the US has the largest contingent of aircraft involved in Air Defender 2023 – 100 aircraft from 42 different states – with most of those drawn from Air National Guard units.
Analysts say the use of the Air National Guard, instead of regular Air Force planes, will make planners more certain that the exercises can go off as expected.
The Air National Guard “can commit units for long hauls with reasonable confidence that they won’t be switched to a contingency operation at the last minute,” Layton said.
“When you have active duty units involved, it means they’re not doing their normal job,” Tannehill said.
The two-week NATO exercise ended on June 23.