20200516 Defender-Fortsetzung

16.05.2020 Defender-Fortsetzung - Allied Spirit

Corona could only reduce DEFENDER 2020

One of the few good consequences of Corona, besides the good air, due to less traffic jams and air traffic, was the failure of the NATO manoeuvre DEFENDER 2020. 37,000 soldiers, 20,000 of them from the USA, were to be transported across Europe to the Russian border, together with heavy equipment. According to NATO"only" 6000 US soldiers and 3000 vehicles were transported across the Atlantic.

The German government does not know what they are supposed to do here in the Corona crisis. In April 2020, in response to a question from the Left Party, it claims that the exercises "Allied Spirit XI" and "Trojan Footprint", which were originally scheduled for May in connection with Defender 2020, would take place despite the corona crisis. (see Telelpolis)

Allied Spirit XI is now scheduled to start in June 2020 despite Corona. The Polish Ministry of Defence confirmed that the Allied Spirit exercise will take place from 5 to 19 June at the military training area Drawsko Pomorskie in Poland. This means that an exercise in conjunction with DEFENDER-Europe 20, originally planned for May, will involve some 6,000 US and Polish soldiers.

Money is still not an issue, with the US having budgeted $340 million for the manoeuvre planned in Europe this year, and the US Army planning 150 Million $ for Defender Europe 2021.