Foreign operations

The Spanish Armed Forces are involved in 17 missions abroad and it is foreseen that by 2023, the highest number of troops simultaneously deployed will not exceed 2.900, excluding occasional adjustments in some of the missions depending on requirements such as those derived from the temporary exercise of command over international forces, or due to the health and security situation.

The largest contingents are in Lebanon, with over 600 blue helmets, and in Latvia, with roughly 600 troops. Within NATO, they monitor the waters of the Mediterranean and take part in the defense of the Baltic countries and Türkiye.

Spain is also involved in all the military missions that the European Union is carrying out on the African continent, with deployments in Mali, the Central African Republic, Somalia and Senegal, as well as the presence of military observers in Mozambique. Our Armed Forces are also involved in Operation Atalanta, which aims at countering piracy in the Indian Ocean, deploying troopd and assets belonging to the Navy and the Air Force, all conducted from the ES-OHQ located at Rota Naval Base in Spain.

The following map shows the participation of Spanish military units and observers in operations abroad:

INTERACTIVE MAP: Click on each mission to learn more.

Summary of deployments where Spain is involved

Location	Mission	Starting	Command
Baltic Countries	Baltic Air Policing (BAP)	May-2004
Bulgaria / Romania	eAP South	Feb-2021
Central African Republic	EUTM RCA	Jul-2016
Somalia	EUTM Somalia	Jan-2010
Mali	EUTM Mali	Jan-2013
Mozambique	EUTM Mozambique	Nov-2021
Iraq	Inherent Resolve	Oct-2014
Senegal	Marfil Detachment	Jan-2013
Indian Ocean	EU NAVFOR–ATALANTA	Sep-2008
Türkiye	Support to Türkiye	Sep-2014
Bosnia i Herzegovina	EUFOR Althea BiH	Dec-2004
Mediterranean Sea	Standing NATO Maritime Groups and Counter-Mine	Jan-2017
Lebanon	UNIFIL	Sep-2006
Colombia	UN Colombia	Aug-2012
Latvia	Enhanced Forward Presence (eFP)	Jun-2017
Several operation areas	Sea Guardian	Nov-2016
Several operational areas	Diplomacy and Cooperative Security Activities