The air forces of 16 Nato-member countries will meet in Turkey next month for the alliance's largest planned air manoeuvres, the Turkish Air Force said.

Some 100 aircraft -i ncluding tanker planes and early warning aircraft - and nearly 1,500 personnel will participate in the exercise, codenamed Nato Air Meet, set to take place at a major air base in the central Turkish province of Konya on September 4-16, the Air Force said in a statement.

The scenario for the exercices involves joint air operations to destroy enemy air defences and electronic warfare capabilities, it added.

The exercises will be limited to Turkish air space and all flights will be carried out during daytime.

The participant countries are Germany, the US, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Britain, Italy, Hungary, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Turkey and Greece.-Reuters