‘Strong Lineage 25’: Spain Enhances its Capabilities in Slovakia to Certify the Operational Readiness of NATO’s Multinational Brigade

•  The Galicia VII Brigade – BRILAT, under the command of Brigadier General Alfonso Pardo de Santayana, is leading this operational activity, which will validate the upscaling process of the Slovakia Battle Group into a brigade-level unit, with Spain acting as framework nation

Since July 2024, Spain has led the Multinational Brigade in Slovakia (MN BDE SVK), which forms part of NATO’s Forward Land Forces deployed on its eastern flank. In addition to Spanish forces, the Brigade includes units from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Portugal, Romania, and Türkiye. A permanent Forward Element of the Multinational Brigade is deployed at the Lest training area.

Currently, the Galicia VII Brigade – BRILAT serves as the core unit of the contingent, which comprises over 1,000 international personnel under the command of Colonel Jesús M. Martínez Victoria. The remaining MN BDE SVK units are stationed in their respective home countries, ready and on standby to deploy at short notice.

For the first time, the operational rehearsal to upscale to brigade level will take place under exercise ‘Strong Lineage 25’, led by Brigadier General Pardo de Santayana. This involves both the activation of the brigade and the projection of various units and capabilities into Slovakia, with the aim of validating that the brigade is fully prepared to defend NATO territory in Eastern Europe—closely coordinated with the host nation, Slovakia—against any threat to the peace and security of Allied nations and their populations.

The execution phase of the exercise will run from 6 to 10 June 2025, during which the Brigade will deploy its full command and control capabilities (including the headquarters of the Multinational Brigade and its subordinate units), manoeuvre elements to enhance combat power, as well as engineer support, fire support, air defence, and logistic support. In total, the reinforcement will comprise approximately 1,900 troops—over 650 Spanish—from the seven contributing nations, and over 400 combat vehicles forming the main tactical reinforcement.

The operation will also be supported by two HA-28 Tiger attack helicopters, one HT-29 Caïman, and two HT-17 Chinooks, due to be deployed to Malacky in the coming days.

During this activation, a certification team from NATO’s Land Component Command will deploy to the Lest training area to verify the upscaling process to brigade level, ensuring that the enhanced capabilities meet the requirements defined by NATO standards.

‘Strong Lineage 25’ will be the optimal opportunity to demonstrate that the MN BDE SVK is fully prepared across all dimensions: activation, strategic and logistical projection, and operational readiness. Moreover, it will strengthen preparation and interoperability under the NATO Force Model, agreed at the Madrid Summit in 2022, which focuses on high-intensity operations, integrated operational planning, and realistic multinational deployments.

Activation and Deployment of Spanish Units

As part of the ‘Strong Lineage 25’ operational activity, the MN BDE SVK was activated at the end of April. Since then, contributing nations have implemented their national procedures to ensure the projection, transportation, and integration of their capabilities from their home locations, as well as the transfer of forces to NATO’s command structure.

For Spain, this activation has involved projecting more than 650 military personnel, along with all their equipment and materiel, primarily from BRILAT.

This deployment highlights Spain’s commitment to reinforcing NATO’s eastern flank, through the rapid, effective, and credible projection of the units that make up the multinational brigade under Spanish leadership—units that are normally held at high readiness within their national bases.

To enable the Spanish personnel deployment, the strategic airlift capability of the Spanish Air and Space Force was augmented by contracted civilian aircraft. As a result, Spanish troops were transferred from Madrid and Vigo to the theatre of operations in just three hours.

In parallel, over 170 vehicles, 60 trailers, and 32 twenty-foot containers—amounting to over 7,000 tonnes of cargo—were transported via a civilian Ro-Ro ferry, which departed Vigo Port on 16 May and arrived at Koper Port (Slovenia) on 23 May.

Once unloaded, the Reception, Staging, Onward Movement (RSOM) process began within the theatre. This included the formation of seven military and four civilian convoys, which will complete the onward movement to Lest (Slovakia) over three days.

During this stage, the Spanish National Support Element (NSE)—composed mainly of personnel from the Army’s Logistics Brigade—will be responsible for coordinating military movements across the transit and host nations, and for integrating all Spanish and Allied forces participating in the reinforcement of the MN BDE SVK.

This comprehensive logistical effort, vital to executing the ‘Strong Lineage 25’ rehearsal, has been underpinned by meticulous planning. Under the direction of the Spanish Joint Operations Command (MOPS in Spanish), planning has involved experts from the headquarters of the Spanish Army’s Force and all participating units.