Preparations for large NATO air force exercise complete in Germany

Preparations for a large-scale NATO air force exercise over parts of Germany have been completed, the country's military said on Friday, reported dpa.

Lieutenant General Ingo Gerhartz, who serves as inspector of the air force, said at the Jagel airbase in northern Germany that "a total of 25 nations are ready to start this exercise on Monday."

He said 190 fighters and 60 other types of aircraft would be involved in the operation, called Air Defender 2023.

"This unique deployment has been completed in less than a week," Gerhartz said. "The different air forces have demonstrated that we can all react and act very quickly."

He said the US Air Force alone had flown 1,500 tons of material into Germany in the past few days. "The redeployment has gone absolutely smoothly so far."

The German-led exercise will last until June 23. It is the largest deployment exercise of air forces in NATO's history.