Foreign operations

The Spanish Armed Forces plan to maintain the level of operations abroad during 2026, including the ongoing command of EUNAVFOR Atalanta and NMI in Iraq.

It will be involved in 17 overseas missions, with an average of 3,000 military personnel deployed on four continents.

Under UN command, Spanish military personnel are part of the mission in Lebanon (the largest) in which they lead the eastern sector, and also participate in the UN mission in Colombia.

Within the NATO framework, as a consequence of the implementation of the new NATO Force Model, in 2026 Spain will be leading the battlegroup of the FLF-Slovakia operation. Thus, the current deployment within the Euro-Atlantic territory will be increased to 1,700 military personnel, including those of the current ground contingent in FLF-Latvia. In addition to these deployments, there will be contributions to NATO's standing naval forces (SNMG and SNMCMG), air policing and surveillance arrangements (Eap-Romania) and air defense support in the Baltic countries (BAP) and in A/T-Turkiye.

Additionally, Spain is present in all European Union military missions in Africa, with deployments Central African Republic, Somalia and Senegal, as well as in Operation Atalanta, which fights piracy across the Indian Ocean, deploying human and material resources belonging to the Navy and the Air Force, all conducted from the ES-OHQ located at the Rota Naval Base.

The following map shows the authorized participation of Spanish military personnel in operations abroad by the year 2026:

INTERACTIVE MAP: Click on each mission to learn more.

Summary of deployments where Spain is involved

Location	Mission	Starting	Command
Mediterranean Sea	SNMG1 & SNMG2 / SNMCMG1 & SNMCMG2	Jan-2017
Several operational areas	Coperative Security Activities	2019
Several operational areas	Coodinated Maritime Presences	2015
Several operation areas	Sea Guardian	Nov-2016
Colombia	Mission UN	Aug-2012
Central African Republic	EUTM RCA	Jul-2016
Mozambique	EUMAM Mozambique	Nov-2021
Lebanon	UNIFIL	Sep-2006
Somalia	EUTM Somalia	Jan-2010
Indian Ocean	EUNAVFOR ATALANTA	Sep-2008
Iraq	Inherent Resolve	Oct-2014
Eastern Flank	Persistent Effort	Sep-2014
Eastern Flank	Forward Land Presence	Feb-2021
Bosnia i Herzegovina	EUFOR Althea	Dec-2004