FLASH
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It looks like we're edging ever closer to World War III as NATO announces plans to call up 90,000 troops in one of its biggest military exercises since the Cold War.
Around 20,000 British troops will join the call as NATO begins to test each member state's ability to engage in conflict. It is the biggest call since the end of the Cold War 33 years ago.
The exercise, called Steadfast Defender, will start next week and last until the end of May, writes Metro.uk.co.
All 31 NATO members will be involved in the exercise, plus Sweden, whose membership is being ratified.
"The Alliance will demonstrate its ability to strengthen the Euro-Atlantic area with a transatlantic movement of forces from North America," US General Christopher Cavoli, NATO's Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, told reporters in Brussels.
Defense Secretary Grant Shapps announced the deployment of the entire army, navy and RAF on Monday. The Royal Navy will deploy two new aircraft carriers and eight warships. The RAF's F-35 lightning strike jets will also be sent and tested in conflict scenarios.
The NATO exercise is mainly preparing for possible aggression from Russia. Germany will also send 12,000 soldiers, according to national newspaper Bild.
They said the exercise would simulate a Russian attack on NATO territory, which would trigger Article 5 of the treaty, meaning all other member states must mobilize to defend it. NATO's largest previous exercise took place in 2018, with 51,000 troops taking part in 'Trident Crossing 2018'.
In a chilling speech last month, Mr Shapps declared that international relations had entered "a new era".
"We must be prepared to thwart our enemies, prepared to lead our allies and prepared to defend our nation whenever the call comes," he said.
Shapps said Russia, China and Iran posed serious threats, calling them "unsustainable" and "irrational".
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