Four F-18 Eurofighters from the Spanish Air and Space Force that are part of the ‘Paznic’ Detachment, which is located at the Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base (Romania), have taken part in a training mission with Italian, Swedish and Finnish aircraft.
This exercise was carried out in the airspace of the Baltic Sea, where pilots from the ‘Paznic’ Detachment tested their capabilities with F-18, JAS 39 Gripen and Eurofighter aircraft of the allied air forces. In addition, the Spanish F-18 fighter jets carried out in-flight refuelling exercises in return journeys, thanks to the support of an Airbus A330 MRTT from the Royal Netherlands Air Force. The air-to-air training mission was controlled by the Control and Reporting Centre (CRC) located in Lielvarde (Latvia), supporting in this way the training of Interception Controllers from the Latvian Air Force.
The Spanish Army also participated in the exercise with their NASAMS Surface-to-Air Missile systems, which are currently deployed in Latvia within the framework of NATO’s enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) mission.
The aim of this training exercise is to ensure a deterrent presence on the eastern flank of the allied territory, and to enhance the forces’ readiness in order to sustain NATO’s air superiority in a different environment from that of their home countries. In this regard, forces deployed on the enhanced Air Policing (eAP) mission take advantage of such a unique opportunity to conduct tactical training in a completely different environment from their regular ones, as well as to test their tactics and procedures against other allied air forces.
Overall, these training missions represent a suitable complement to the main mission of enhancing the security of the Alliance’s eastern territory, as a tangible demonstration of Spain’s commitment to NATO.