BRUSSELS, June 20. /TASS/. NATO’s Exercise Air Defender is sending a message that the alliance is ready to defend every inch of its territory, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on a visit to the exercise’s headquarters at Jagel Air Base in Germany on Tuesday.

"This is the biggest air exercise in NATO's history," he said in comments broadcast by the NATO press office. "This exercise sends a very clear message that NATO is ready to defend every inch of allied territory and to defend every inch of allied airspace."

According to Stoltenberg, the purpose of the exercise is to prevent a conflict, rather than provoke it.

Exercise Air Defender started in Germany and neighboring countries on June 12 and are scheduled to last two weeks. Germany said it involves about 10,000 servicemen, including 6,000 from Germany. About 250 aircraft will take to the skies during the exercise, which aims to rehearse repelling a hypothetical enemy from the east.