The Spanish Eurofighters successfully complete their mission in Bulgaria

• The six aircraft of the 11th Wing return to national territory after successfully completing their mission

The six Eurofighter aircraft of the 11th Wing deployed at the Bezmer base in Bulgaria as part of NATO's Air Policing mission are returning to national territory after successfully completing their mission.

During the month that the aircraft have been deployed on NATO territory on the eastern flank, under operational control of the Operations Command, they have flown around 150 hours in Bulgarian airspace. They have occasionally participated in missions in Romanian airspace, training with other Alliance aircraft such as Turkish F-16s, French Rafale, US Growler and Super-Hornet, and even performed an in-flight refueling with an Italian 767.

With the completion of the mission, a milestone was reached as this was the first time that the Spanish Air Force deployed six Eurofighter fighters to the Bezmer base.

The success of the mission is a sign of the determination of the Allies to sustain and advance collective defence and demonstrates the flexibility and adaptability of Alliance operations.

The mission ended without incident, with the 130 soldiers who made up the Orel detachment returning to their home units with the intimate satisfaction of having fulfilled their duty.