Spanish participation in the 'Eagle Hannibal' exercise in Poland

• Military personnel from the Spanish contingent deployed in F/E Latvia XV have been deployed to southern Poland

Two platoons of the Spanish contingent deployed in NATO's eastern flank defense mission in Latvia are participating in the 'Eagle Hannibal' exercise with their counterparts from Canada, Italy and Poland.

A section of the Multinational Battle Group located in Latvia has been deployed to the southern part of Poland, near the border with the Czech Republic and Slovakia, to reinforce the presence on the eastern flank of the Alliance.

During the exercise, shooting drills were conducted with the new Polish FB MSBS Grot rifle and the FB VIS 100 gun, recently acquired by the same Army. In addition, the military personnel carried out various hikes in the area of the 'Tatra' Mountains and in the 'Beskid' area.

Finally, they participated in an exchange of experiences on tactics, techniques and combat procedures in trenches and urban combat.

Land deployment on the eastern flank.

NATO's military presence on the Alliance's eastern flank is a key element of its enhanced deterrence and defence commitment, which has increased in recent years to reflect the new security reality in the Euro-Atlantic area. The deployment of allied ground forces is defensive, proportionate, transparent and, ultimately, in line with the Alliance's international commitments and obligations.

This deployment consists of eight multinational battlegroups, contributed by framework countries and other contributing partners on a voluntary, fully sustainable and rotational basis.

NATO Allies' troops and personnel currently train and exercise together in the east of the Alliance, a strong expression of unity and solidarity. Contributing nations' forces rotate in and out of battle groups; they may be deployed in the area of operations or stationed in their home countries with the capacity to deploy rapidly if required.

Spanish participation in Latvia

The main assets contributed by Spain to the NATO Battlegroup in Latvia are the ‘Leopard 2E’ Armoured Tanks, the ‘Pizarro’ Infantry Combat Vehicles (ICV) and a NASAMS Air Defence Unit (ADU). It also provides additional capabilities with a Field Artillery Unit, an Engineer Unit and logistic support elements.

In addition, Spain is contributing other mechanised resources such as the M-113 Caterpillar Armoured Transport (TOA), heavy mortars, sapper combat vehicles (VCZ) and "Spike" anti-tank missiles. Also noteworthy is the contribution of units that substantially improve the combat capability of the Tactical Subgroup, such as a Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC) team and a ‘Raven’ unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).

Spain is, therefore, a responsible partner and ally, committed to NATO's defence objectives. The significant deployment of Spanish forces to support and reinforce the forward presence on NATO's eastern flank demonstrates Spain's firm commitment, through its Armed Forces, to our allies, as well as Spain's determined contribution to the Alliance's deterrence efforts in Eastern Europe.