Largest air drill in NATO history to include nearly 10,000 participants, high-end aircraft

In what may appear to be a major demonstration of power, NATO allies are set to hold the largest aviation exercises that have ever been witnessed in history. The drills will be held between June 12 to June 23.

The announcement was made by the US National Guard on its website. According to the official information, the drill will take place on NATO’s eastern frontiers, along the Russia border. A show that will challenge Russia's military strength in the face of an ongoing war in the Ukraine.

What will NATO's aviation exercise include? 

Through this exercise, the member countries will testify their ability to face the war sitiuation, rapidly deploy and use allied aviation and set to demostrate the power of NATO nations. As many as 22 countries, including Germany and the USA, will take part in the aviation exercise. A total of 23 different types of aircraft will be used in the aviation exercise with approximately 220 participating fighter planes, and nearly 100 coming from more than 40 ANG units, with 10,000 participants from 24 nations marking Air Defender ’23 as the largest Air Force deployment exercise since NATO’s founding in 1949.

As reported, the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE), which operates in Tallinn, will host the world's largest cyber defence exercise, Locked Shields 2023, on April 18–21, involving nearly 3,000 participants.

The exercise marks the Air Guard’s biggest transatlantic deployment since the Gulf War, said ANG boss Lt Gen Michael Loh at a media briefing on Wednesday. “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 said. “We’re going to defend every inch," reported Air Force Times.

Participating aircraft includes:

• The US Air Force’s A-10C attack plane
• F-15C, F-16 and F-35A fighter jets
• MQ-9 reconnaissance and attack drones
• C-17 and C-130H cargo aircraft
• KC-46 and KC-135 tankers. 
• US Navy F/A-18 fighters
• NATO E-3 airborne target tracking jets
• German A400 tankers
• Alongwith a dozen other types of aircraft.

Image: AP