Finland will participate in the largest-ever military exercise in Nato history, starting from Monday.
Following four years of preparation, the German-led exercise — codenamed Air Defender 23 — will involve up to 250 aircraft stationed across six military bases, with 10,000 personnel from 25 countries taking part.
The drills will be held in Germany and the Czech Republic, and are scheduled to end on 23 June.
The alliance's partner countries Japan and Sweden will also be involved.
The exercises will see three flight zones temporarily closed to civilian air traffic, and delays to civilian flights are expected.
The US ambassador to Germany Amy Gutmann told German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle that the purpose of the exercise is to show the alliance's unity and also prepare for any possible threats.
"It will demonstrate beyond a shadow of a doubt the agility and the swiftness of our allied force in Nato as a first responder. I would be pretty surprised if any world leader was not taking note of what this shows in terms of the spirit of this alliance, which means the strength of this alliance," Gutmann said, adding "and that includes [Russian President] Mr. Putin."
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