NATO Launches Massive Air Force Exercise in Germany as Show of Strength Against Russia.
The Air Defender 2023 exercise, the biggest in NATO's history, began in Germany on Monday with 10,000 participants and 250 aircraft from 25 nations responding to a simulated attack on a NATO member. The exercise showcases the alliance's capabilities amid high tensions with Russia and is set to run through June 23. Germany's air force chief Lt. Gen. Ingo Gerhartz proposed the exercise in 2018, reasoning that Russia's annexation of Crimea underlined the need to be able to defend NATO.