NATO is conducting its largest air maneuver, coordinated by Germany, with the aim of showing the unity of its members in the face of potential threats, especially from Russia.

The Air Defender 23 exercise will continue until June 23 and will include about 250 military aircraft from 25 NATO member states and allies, including Japan and Sweden, which are candidates to join the defense alliance.

About ten thousand people will participate in these exercises aimed at enhancing joint operation and protection from drones and cruise missiles in the event of an attack on cities, airports or ports located within NATO territory.

The 2018 exercise was conceived in response to Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014, although it does not specifically target "any party," General Ingo Gerharz, commander of the German air force, said while introducing the exercise.

He said that NATO is determined to defend "every inch" of its territory, adding, "We are a defense alliance and these maneuvers were planned on this basis."

But he also confirmed that he would not send "any aircraft towards the Kaliningrad pocket, for example," which is the Russian enclave bordering NATO members Poland and Lithuania.

"We are a defense alliance and this training is designed on this basis," he added.

But these maneuvers will have the goal of delivering a message, especially to Russia, as the US ambassador to Germany, Amy Gattmann, told reporters.

"I would be very surprised if no leader in the world noticed what this shows in terms of the spirit of this alliance and what the strength of this alliance means, and this includes Mr. (Vladimir) Putin, the Russian president," she said.

"We are redoubling our strength through our joint coordination," she added.

Russia's war against Ukraine galvanized the Western military alliance, which was created some 75 years ago to confront the Soviet Union.
Finland and Sweden, which have long maintained formal neutrality to avoid any conflict with Moscow, asked to join the Atlantic after the start of the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022.

The maneuvers will include operational and tactical training, especially in Germany, but also in the Czech Republic, Estonia and Latvia.

On Friday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will visit the pilots stationed at Schleswig-Jagel Airport in northern Germany.

And the director of the US Air National Guard, General Michael Loh, said that NATO's tasks are at a "turning point".

"A lot has changed in the global strategic landscape, especially here in Europe," he said.

He added that the exercise aims to "complement the permanent presence of the United States in Europe" and provide training "on a larger scale than is usually accomplished on the continent."

Michael Loh explained that many of the alliance's pilots will be working together for the first time, adding, "It's about preserving the old relationships we have and also building new ones."

"It is about establishing what it means to confront a great power in the context of great-power competition," he said.

Gattman noted that there are no current projects to make the Air Defender 23 exercise a regular exercise, but she also said, "We hope this exercise will not be the last."

Speaking about possible disruptions to civil aviation during the maneuver, Gerhartz stressed that the organizers will do "everything in their power" to reduce delays or cancellations of flights, at a time when school holidays begin in some German regions.

Founded at the beginning of the Cold War, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has become the main joint military defense organization, comprising 31 member states in Europe and North America.