[1][2] The maneuver took place in the airspace of the Federal Republic of Germany, under the leadership of the German Air Force.

[1][5] The exercise scenario of Air Defender 23, is that after an attack from the East, Germany asked for assistance according to Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty and the allies within NATO reacted according to the alliance.

For the exercise, the military airfields in Wunstorf (in Lower Saxony), Schleswig, Hohn (both in Schleswig-Holstein), and Lechfeld (in Bavaria) were used.

The airfields Laage (in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern), Geilenkirchen (North Rhine-Westphalia), Spangdahlem (in Rhineland-Palatinate), Neuburg (Bavaria), Volkel (in the Netherlands), Krzesiny (in Poland) and Čáslav (in the Czech Republic) were included in the large exercise.

[1][4] In the East practice area, the defense of the port of Rostock and critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea, e.g. nautical cables, were simulated.