The Chief of Defence's official visit to Lithuania

• Admiral López Calderón met with his Lithuanian counterpart and visited the aircrew of the ‘Vilkas’ Detachment deployed in Šiauliai

The Chief of the Staff (CHOD), Teodoro E. López Calderón, has undertaken a two-day working visit to Lithuania.

On his arrival in Vilnius, the country’s capital, he was welcomed at the airport by the Spanish Ambassador to Lithuania, José Fernando-Aguayo Muñoz. Subsequently, at the Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania, an official welcome ceremony was held by the Lithuanian Chief of Defence , General Raimundas Vaiksnoras, and other senior officers of the Lithuanian Armed Forces.

On the first day of his visit, the Chief of the General Staff held a meeting with his Lithuanian counterpart and subsequently travelled to the Department of Defence, where he was received by Minister Robert Kaunas.

On the second day, Admiral López Calderón travelled to Siauliai Air Base, where he met with Air and Space Force personnel forming part of the Vilkas Detachment deployed on the Baltic Air Policing (BAP 70) mission to defend the Alliance’s eastern flank.

DAT ‘Vilkas’: Spain’s solid commitment to NATO

Spain has taken over command of the Baltic Air Policing (BAP) mission as a key component of NATO’s Operation ‘Persistent Effort’ since early December 2025. In addition, the ‘Vilkas’ Detachment is participating in the ‘Eastern Sentry’ Enhanced Vigilance Activity (eVA) as part of defensive reinforcement within its area of responsibility, to deter any unidentified incursions into allied airspace.

This detachment comprises twelve aircraft: eleven EF-18M Hornet fighters, belonging to Wing 15 (Zaragoza), and one TK23 A400M from Wing 31 (Zaragoza). Together, they constitute the largest Spanish air deployment to date on the eastern flank, and together they are demonstrating their effectiveness in the collective deterrence and defence of NATO and Spain.