Celebration of the Hungarian National Day at the Combined Air Operations Centre in Torrejon

• The event was attended by a delegation led by the Hungarian ambassador to Spain.

The Hungarian Ambassador to Spain, Katalin Toth, accompanied by the First Secretary, Daniel Mihaly, and the Hungarian Defence Attaché, Colonel Sandor Tilaji, visited this morning the Torrejón Combined Air Operations Centre (CAOC TJ) to commemorate the Hungarian National Day. 

The delegation was received by the CAOC commander, Lieutenant General Fernando de la Cruz. After a brief briefing, the traditional raising of the Hungarian flag took place.

In his speech, Lieutenant General De la Cruz thanked the Hungarian Ambassador for her country's contribution to the permanent airspace surveillance mission under the responsibility of the CAOC on the southern flank of the Alliance.

For her part, the Hungarian Ambassador thanked the Hungarian Ambassador for organising the event to commemorate Hungary's bank holidays and for Spain's support for the mission carried out by the CAOC, stressing the importance of the collective security of the Allied countries as a structuring element necessary for the progress of society.

Combined Air Operations Centre at Torrejón (NATO)

The main mission of the Torrejón CAOC, under the direct command of a Lieutenant General of the Spanish Air Force, is to plan, direct, coordinate, supervise, analyse and report on air defence operations in southern Europe, with the resources that nations assign to the Alliance in peacetime, following the guidelines of NATO's Air Component Command, on which it depends.  

The Spanish Armed Forces make an important contribution to the mission carried out by this centre. Some 120 Spanish military personnel serve in the CAOC itself, as well as in the National Support Element (NSE) and the NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCIA) Unit.