The Standing Naval Forces are under the control of NATO Allied Maritime Command which responds to Allied Command Operations.
They are comprised of the Standing NATO Maritime Groups 1 and 2, and Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Groups 1 and 2.
This multinational, integrated force is continuously available to perform tasks ranging from participating to exercises to conducting NATO missions. These forces are part of the maritime component of the NATO Response Force.
The NATO Standing Naval Forces (SNFs), including the Standing NATO Maritime Groups (SNMGs) and the Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures (SNMCMGs), are the forces in charge of providing NATO with a standing maritime presence.
They act as the main element for the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF-M) of the Alliance, being the first forces to be activated, even before a crisis is declared.
The main areas of operation are the Mediterranean, the Black Sea, the Baltic, the Northern Flank and the Southern Corridor (from the Strait of Hormuz to the Suez Canal, including the coast of Somalia).
The Military Planning Directive of 2017 includes among the operational situations for the action of the Joint Force (JF), the contribution to deterrence, which involves "actions of advanced presence and contribution to the Response Forces in the field of NATO and EU".
The mission of assets asigned to NATO by Spain is to conduct the deployment, withdrawal and coordination on support of the naval forces in the NATO groups (SNF) and to monitor the activities and operations carried out by the transferred forces.
The planned Spanish contribution is as follows:
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
Spanish frigate 'Méndez Núñez' takes over from the 'Cristóbal Colón' as SNMG-2 flagship
2021/03/22Constanza, Romania
More informationFrigate 'Cristóbal Colón' takes part in exercise Dynamic Manta 2021
2021/02/25At sea
More informationMinehunter ‘Tajo’ is integrated into Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 2
2021/02/22Tuzla, (Turkey)
More informationFrigate 'Cristobal Colon' hosts on board the Spanish Ambassador to Israel
2021/02/17At sea
More informationFrigate 'Cristóbal Colón' contributes to maintaining peace and security in the Mediterranean
2021/02/03Eastern Mediterranean
More information