Spanish Armed Forces

Spanish Armed Forces
Fuerzas Armadas Españolas

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Spanish Armed Forces Recruitment Logo
Service branches

Spanish Army
Spanish Navy
Spanish Air Force
Common Corps
Military Emergencies Unit

Spanish Royal Guard
Headquarters Madrid, Spain
Leadership
Supreme Commander Captain general
H. M. Felipe VI
Minister of Defence María Dolores de Cospedal[1]
Chief of the Defence Staff General of the army
 Fernando Alejandre Martínez[2]
Manpower
Military age 18
Active personnel 121,911 military and 20.244 civilians[3]
77,427 Civil Guards (only in war times)[4]
Reserve personnel 4,770
Expenditures
Budget €13.467 billion[5] (2016)
Percent of GDP 1.2%[5] (2016)
Industry
Domestic suppliers Airbus, Santa Bárbara, Navantia, Indra, Gamesa, Abengoa
Foreign suppliers  United States
 Germany
 France
 Italy
 Israel
Annual imports € 2.415 billion [6] (2010)
Annual exports € 4.174 billion [6] (2010)
Related articles
History Military history of Spain

The Spanish Armed Forces (Spanish: Fuerzas Armadas Españolas, FFAA) are the military forces of the Kingdom of Spain. The Spanish Armed Forces are a modern military force charged with defending the Kingdom's integrity and sovereignty. They consist of the Army, Navy and Air Force. The King is the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, with the title Capitán General de las Fuerzas Armadas (Captain General of the Armed Forces). The current Chief of the Defence Staff is General Fernando Alejandre Martínez. The Spanish Armed Forces are active members of NATO, the Eurocorps, the European Union Battlegroups, and also provide peace keeping troops to the United Nations.

History

During the 15th and 16th century, Spain evolved into Europe's foremost power with the voyages of Christopher Columbus leading to Spain acquiring vast lands in the Americas. During the reign of Charles V and Philip II, Spain reached the peak of its power with the Spanish Empire spanning 19.4 million square km of the earth's surface, a total of 13%. By the mid 17th century this power had been weakened by the Thirty Years War along with financial problems, and the lack of reforms.

During the 18th century the new Bourbon dynasty revived Spain's economic and military power through a series of important reforms in the armed forces and the economy, notably those of Charles III of Spain. Thanks to these reforms, Spain performed well in the French Revolutionary Wars, the war of Jenkins' Ear, the war of Austrian Succession and several other engagements.

The occupation of a great part of Spain by the French during the Napoleonic Wars resulted in the so-called war of Spanish independence, which was characterised by use on a large scale of guerrilla troops, made necessary by the war's devastating effect on the Spanish economy. Following the war, the Spanish military was in poor condition and political instability resulted in the loss of most of Spain's former colonies, except Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. These too would be lost later in the Spanish–American War.

Today

Spain participated along with the allies (France, United Kingdom, Italy, Denmark, United States and Canada) in the offensive against Gaddafi in Libya. Spain contributed with a tanker, 4 F-18, a frigate, a submarine and a surveillance aircraft. Also with logistich support from the Naval Base of Rota and the Air Base of Morón.

Spain belongs to NATO since 1982. The decision was ratificated in a referendum on 1986 by the Spanish people. The conditions were the reduction of American military bases, the no integration of Spain in the military estructure of the Atlantic alliance and the prohibition of introduce nuclear weapons in Spain (the first two conditions are not respected nowadays).

With the arrival of democracy and the direct contact with democratic nations, the progressive introduction of Spain in the international matters, the professionalization of the Armed Forces and the economic efforts have made the Spanish Armed Forces one of the most prepared.

Current missions

On June 2017, 3,093 soldiers of the Spanish Armed Forces and the Civil Guard are part of the nineteen operations where Spain has an active role.[7]

According to the National Security Department of Spain (DSN), these are the current missions of the armed forces and civil guard: [7]

The Spanish Armed Forces also participated in the last few years in other missions, above all humanitarian and observation: in Albania in 1999, Mozambique in 2000, Republic of Macedonia in 2001, Haiti in 2004 and Indonesia in 2005. In 2006, Spain participated in Darfur (Sudan) by sending observers, and in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Spain also participated in the Iraq War between 2003 and 2004, in Gabon and in Senegal to ensurence the maritim traffic in the Horn of Africa (in this one, with 33 civil guards and national police officers, two patrol vessels and a helicopter).[8] Furthermore, in 2015, 46 UME soldiers and 12 civil guards of the High Mountain Group went to help and rescue in the Nepal Earthquake, along with 6 dogs, 3 scientific police and a Boeing 707 of supplies transport of the Air Force.[9][10]

The cost of these missions abroad amounts to approximately 800 million euros per year.[11]

Command Structure

Frigate Cristóbal Colón (F-105) of the Spanish Navy.
Eurofighter Typhoon of the Spanish Air Force.

The commander in chief of the Armed Forces is the King of Spain with the title of Capitán General. While the king is formally entrusted with the "supreme command of the military" by the constitution, in practical terms military decision-making is responsible by the President of the Government. Also, there exists another civilian official after the President, which is the Minister of Defence. In addition to this, there is also military commanders, the Chief of Defence Staff and after him, one chief of staff for every branch. The structure is:

  1. Commander in chief: General Captain of the Armed Forces H.M. The King of Spain, Felipe VI.
  2. President of the Government: The Most Excellent President Mariano Rajoy.
  3. Minister of Defence: The Most Excellent Madam Minister Maria Dolores de Cospedal.
  4. Chief of the Defence Staff: The Most Excellent Army General Fernando Alejandre Martínez.
  5. Chief of Staff of the Army: The Most Excellent Army General Francisco Javier Varela Salas.
  6. Chief of Staff of the Navy: The Most Excellent General admiral Teodoro E. López Calderón.
  7. Chief of Staff of the Air Force: The Most Excellent Air General Javier Salto Martínez-Avial.

Branches

The Spanish armed forces are a professional force with a strength in 2017 of 101,900 active personnel and 4,770 reserve personnel. The country also has the 77,000 strong Civil Guard which comes under the control of the Ministry of Defence in times of a national emergency. The Spanish defence budget is 5.71 billion euros (7.2 billion USD) a 1% increase for 2015. The increase comes because of security concerns in the country.[12]

Army

The Spanish army consists of 15 active brigades and 6 military regions. Modern infantry have diverse capabilities and this is reflected in the varied roles assigned to them. There are four operational roles that infantry battalions can fulfil: air assault, armoured infantry, mechanised infantry, and light role infantry. The Spanish army has the latest technology at its disposal to preserve the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Spain.[13]

Under the command of the Spanish Chief of Naval Staff, stationed in Madrid, are four area commands:

The current flagship of the Spanish Navy is the amphibious assault ship Juan Carlos 1 which is also used as an aircraft carrier. In addition, the fleet consists of: 2 amphibious transport docks, 11 frigates, 3 submarines, 6 mine countermeasure vessels, 23 patrol vessels and a number of auxiliary ships. The total displacement of the Spanish Navy is approximately 220,000 tonnes. As of 2012, the Armada has a strength of 20,838 personnel.[14]

Marines

Spanish soldiers in Afghanistan.

The Marines, in Spanish, Infanteria de Marina, are the marine infantry of the Spanish Navy, the oldest in the world. It has a strength of 5,000 troops divided into base defense forces and landing forces. One of the three base defense battalions is stationed with each of the Navy headquarters. "Groups" (midway between battalions and regiments) are stationed in Madrid and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. The Tercio (fleet — regiment equivalent) is available for immediate embarkation and based out of San Fernando. Its principal weapons include light tanks, armored personnel vehicles, self-propelled artillery, and TOW and Dragon antitank missiles.

Air Force

Spain currently has 10 fighter squadrons, each with 18-24 airplanes. The air force also has 15 operational air bases around the country. The air force operates a wide-ranging fleet of aircraft, from fighters to transport aircraft and passenger transports to helicopters. It maintains some 450 aircraft in total, of which around 130 are fighter aircraft, including a number of Eurofighter Typhoons. The Spanish Air Force is replacing older aircraft in the inventory with newer ones including the recently introduced Eurofighter Typhoon and the Airbus A400M Atlas airlifter. Both are manufactured with Spanish participation; EADS CASA makes the Eurofighter's right wing and leading edge slats, and participates in the testing and assembly of the airlifter.[15] Its aerobatic display team is the Patrulla Aguila, which flies the CASA C-101 Aviojet.Its helicopter display team, Patrulla Aspa, flies the Eurocopter EC-120 Colibrí. In July 2014 the Spanish Air Force joined the European Air Transport Command, headquartered at Eindhoven Airbase in the Netherlands.[16]

Common Corps

The Common Corps are four corps that provide professional services to all the branches of the Armed Forces and the Civil Guard. The Common Corps where created in the 1980s to unify the specialist corps of the different branches for operational reasons. The Common Corps are:

Royal Guard

The Royal Guard (Guardia Real) is an independent unit of the Spanish Armed Forces whose primary task is the military protection of the King of Spain and the Spanish Royal Family. It also protects visiting Heads of State.

The Royal Guard's history dates back to medieval times, the Corps of Gentlemen of the Chamber, the "Monteros de Espinosa", dating to 1006.

It currently has a strength of 1,900 troops, constituting a fully functional combat unit drawn from the ranks of all three branches of the Spanish Armed Forces: among others, a Royal Marines company, a Paratroop company and an infantry company. Some units have served recently in Afghanistan and Bosnia.

Military Emergencies Unit

UME Mobile Command Station.

The Military Emergencies Unit (Spanish: Unidad Militar de Emergencias, is the most recently instituted branch of the Spanish Armed Forces, resulting from a decision of the Council of Ministers of Spain in 2005.

In addition to headquarters staff (Unidad de Cuartel General, there are five emergency intervention battalions (Batallon de Intervención en Emergencias, BIEM), a support regiment (Regimiento de Apoyo a Emergencias) and an aerial group (Agrupación de Medios Aéreos).

It is responsible for providing disaster relief principally throughout Spain but also if necessary abroad. The activities including handling natural hazards such as floods and earthquakes, forest fires, chemical and nuclear accidents, and other emergy situations recognized as such by the Prime Minister of Spain.

See also

References

  1. ↑ (in Spanish) María Dolores de Cospedal toma posesión como ministra de Defensa.
  2. ↑ (in Spanish) New head of the Joint Chiefs of Spanish Defense Staff, General of the Army Fernando Alejandre Martínez. The Spanish Official Gazette.
  3. ↑ "España Hoy 2016-2016". lamoncloa.gob.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  4. ↑ "La policía ha perdido un 9,9% de agentes y la Guardia Civil un 6,4% desde que gobierna Rajoy". elpais.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  5. 1 2 https://www.sipri.org/databases/milex
  6. 1 2 (in Spanish)
  7. 1 2 "Fuerzas Armadas españolas en misiones internacionales, Junio 2017". 2017. Retrieved June 19, 2017.
  8. ↑ "Misiones en curso". April 9, 2017.
  9. ↑ "Medio centenar de militares españoles parten desde Jaca rumbo a Nepal". May 5, 2015.
  10. ↑ "Medio centenar de militares españoles parten desde Jaca rumbo a Nepal". May 5, 2015.
  11. ↑ España gastó en 2016 más de 770 millones de euros en las misiones de las Fuerzas Armadas
  12. ↑ "Update: Spain to increase defence spending". janes.com. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  13. ↑ "Snapshot: the Spanish defence industry to 2015". army-technology.com. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  14. ↑ "Military Budget 2012" (PDF). defensa.gov.es (in Spanish). p. 454.
  15. ↑ http://www.airbus.com/en/presscentre/pressreleases/press-release/detail/first-a400m-wings-delivered-to-final-assembly-line/news-browse/1/news-period/1175378400/2591999/archived/news-category/press_release/?tx_felogin_pi1%5Bforgot%5D=1
  16. ↑ "Spain is now member of the EATC - Articles - EATC  -  European Air Transport Command". eatc-mil.com. Retrieved 8 May 2015.

Further reading

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