Relief in the Orion Air Force detachment integrated in Operation Atalanta

·         The 36th contingent takes over the detachment to continue its commitment to provide vigilance and prevention against piracy in the Indian Ocean

Lieutenant Colonel Antonio Luis Esteban Muñoz has been relieved by Lieutenant Colonel Miguel Ángel Saez Nievas at the French BA188 Base in Djibouti, where the Spanish contingent has deployed its P-3 Orion aircraft belonging to the 11th Wing of the Air Force. The event was presided over by Major General Francisco Braco Carbó, Chief of the Operations Command Staff (in Spanish MOPS).

The Orion detachment, part of the European Union Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia, continues with the commitment of the Spanish Armed Forces to fight  piracy. Piracy incidents are affecting UN World Food Programme (WFP) vessels and ships transiting the waters of Somalia, the Gulf of Aden and the Western Indian Ocean. 

Over the last four months, the 35th contingent has conducted around 50 surface surveillance missions as well as Intelligence, Surveillance and Recognition (ISR) missions, supporting the 'Atalanta' operation ships with more than 400 flight hours. One of the most remarkable successes of this contingent was the collaboration in the search and location of some divers who were adrift in the Strait of Bab el Mandeb last 12^th November.

The contingent is composed of around 60 airmen from different units of the Air Force and the Navy. Most part of the detachment is composed of personnel from the 22 Group (11^th Wing, Morón de la Frontera); the aircraft P3M assigned to the mission is part of the mentioned Group.