Content |
Main article: Spain
NATO membership
Main article: NATO
2023:54% of the population supports NATO
Financing
2024: 35-year defence spending cut by 39%
2023
Defense spending - 1.2% of GDP
Defense funding growth of 20% to €12.3 billion
In early October 2022, the Spanish government approved the draft state budget for 2023, according to which 12.3 billion euros were allocated for defense, which is 20.5% higher than in 2022.
Number of troops
2024: US military remains stationed in the country
2022:79 thousand military personnel. Another 20 thousand people are missing
As of October 2022, the Spanish armed forces need 12,000 people for the personnel of the ground forces, 5.7 thousand people for the air force and 4 thousand soldiers and 2.7 thousand civilians requested by the navy.
According to El Periodico, the kingdom's air force is in the most difficult condition, where there is the most acute shortage of specialized personnel. So, for example, in Spain there are only 21 active pilots capable of flying a Eurofighter fighter.
The Spanish Ministry of Defense has kept the maximum number of military personnel and sailors at 79,000 for 2022, a figure that has remained unchanged since 2014.
2010:86 thousand military personnel. Start of personnel reduction
The Spanish government in 2010, when the maximum number of military personnel was 86 thousand people, began to pursue a policy of reducing the personnel of the kingdom's troops.
Military equipment
Tanks
Reduction in the number of armored vehicles by 47% over 30 years
2023:327 Leopard tanks in service
2022: Spain cannot hand over 10 German Leopard A4 tanks to Ukraine, as they are in an absolutely deplorable state
In early June 2022, El País, citing sources in the Spanish government, reported that the authorities were Spain preparing to supply heavy weapons to Ukraine, including German Leopard A4 tanks. Approval is required for delivery. Germany
We are talking about tanks that are in storage at a military base in Zaragoza in the north-east of the country, Madrid received 108 used tanks from Germany in 1995 as part of a contract for the production of Leopard in Spain, the newspaper writes.
Initially, the Spanish authorities intended to restore the received cars, but later, due to lack of funding, it was decided to keep them in storage. According to El País sources, Madrid intends to restore and transfer 40 Leopard A4 tanks to Kyiv.
In 2016, officials from the Czech Republic were in Spain checking the health of Leopard 2A4 stored in Zaragoza. The Czech army refused to buy them because they had not been tested.
It was reported that Spain will also train the Ukrainian military to control these tanks, the first stage of the briefing is planned to be held in Latvia, where a contingent of 500 Spanish soldiers with six Leopard 2E tanks is deployed. The second stage of preparation implies training in Spain, sources of the publication said.
On June 11, 2022, it became known that the Spanish government apologized to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz "for excessive excitement" caused by reports of the possible sending of German Leopard 2 Panzer tanks to Ukraine by Spain. This is reported by Business Insider.
It is noted that Madrid initially planned to supply 40 tanks to Kyiv, but reduced their number to a "maximum" of ten and apologized.
According to the publication, it is not yet clear whether the delivery will be carried out, since this "would increase the pressure on Chancellor Olaf Scholz to follow suit."
Spiegel magazine wrote that Germany refuses to hand over its tanks to Ukraine, fearing the "appearance" of these combat vehicles in Russia. According to sources in the German government, Berlin believes that the Ukrainian authorities can use German equipment to attempt an invasion of Russian territory, which will be a reminder of the actions of Nazi Germany during the Great Patriotic War.
Later on August 1, 2022, the El Mundo newspaper reported that Spain abandoned the idea of supplying Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, as they are in an "absolutely deplorable state."
"We are considering all possibilities today, but I can already tell you that Leopards, which have not been used at the Zaragoza military base for many years, cannot be sent to Ukraine because they are in an absolutely deplorable state," said Defense Minister Margarita Robles.
"There have been appropriate checks which have shown that the tanks are in a state in which they cannot be used. We cannot give them to Ukraine because they will pose a danger to themselves, "Robles added.
2018: Number of tanks
Armored personnel carriers
2022: Spain to hand over 20 armored personnel carriers to Ukraine M113
In August 2022, the Spanish Ministry of Defense decided to donate 20 armored personnel carriers M113 American production to Ukraine.
Artillery
2022: Deliveries of shells and air defense systems to Ukraine
September 6, 2022 Ministry of Defence Spain sent To Ukraine another aircraft with ammunition for large-caliber artillery systems.
This is the fifth supply of weapons for Kyiv from Madrid over the past few days - the previous week, four more flights with ammunition departed from the Rota naval base (this is 75 pallets with 155 mm ammunition).
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said in November 2022 that in the near future Kyiv will receive from Spain one battery of the Aspide anti-aircraft missile system and missiles for it.
"I am very glad that there is already a new package (military assistance from Spain - ed.), It is already on its way to Ukraine. In the near future, our country will strengthen its defense capability by receiving an Aspide air defense battery and missiles for it, 4 Hawk air defense systems, anti-tank missile systems, grenades and shells for them, as well as other military equipment. This is exactly what we asked Spain for, "he said at a joint press conference with Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albarez in Kyiv.
Fighter aircrafts
Submarines
At the beginning of 2022, Spain has only one operating submarine - Tramontana 'S-70'.
A contract with Navantia for the construction of four nuclear submarines was signed in 2004. Its value was 1.755 billion euros. The 2008 economic crisis slowed down the project and new problems arose: the submarine weighed too much and sank.
In 2013, it was decided to increase the submarine by seven meters so that it could swim.
In May 2022, a video appeared of the first sea tests of the Spanish submarine S-81 Isaac Peral, 80.8 meters long and with a displacement of 3,000 tons. On 27 May, "Isaac Peral" embarked on the final and most challenging phase of the trials, which consists of sailing on the high seas and diving.
Navantia and the Navy have been testing in the port of Cartagena for a year. But on this day was a key day of testing.
The submarine is due to be handed over to the Navy in April 2023.
Aerospace Forces
2022: Spanish Air Force changes its name and is now called Aerospace Force
In June 2022, the government announced its decision to change, after 83 years of history, the name of the Air Force, which will now be called the Aerospace Force.
The decision was made to "make more visible" the efforts being made to "adapt all the country's defense systems and defenses to a new reality" full of new challenges, particularly in the field of cybersecurity.
This decision was announced by the press secretary of the executive branch Isabel Rodriguez. "Against the backdrop of this government's strategic commitments. We have made a special and important commitment to the aerospace industry. "
Drone operators
2023: Creation of a special unit of drone operators
Unmanned aerial vehicles, which are often called drones, have gained such active use over the past few years that the Spanish Ministry of Defense in February 2023 decided to form a separate division of aircraft operators used for defense purposes and not only as part of the Armed Forces. We are talking both about those that move through the air, and about those operating on land and in water areas. Officially, the battalion of operators should be formed and registered in the fall of 2023, but the equipment and training are scheduled to be completed by 2025.
According to Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles, it is planned to spend 40 million euros on the organization of a special drone unit. Of these, 8 million euros will be spent on new devices, and 14 million are planned to be spent on auxiliary equipment and equipment for maintenance and operability.
In addition, significant costs will be required to prepare the Conde de Gasola military base for work in the new conditions: there will be a headquarters there. A training center for unmanned aerial vehicle operators will appear at the base, a special territory for working skills in the open sky, on the surface of the Earth and under water.
Foreign military operations
2022: Training of the Ukrainian military
As the Spanish newspaper El Mundo reported in September 2022, Ukrainian servicemen will undergo training in Spain - just as it is already being done in Britain. The training center will operate in Zaragoza, where about 600 Ukrainian troops have already arrived for treatment and recovery. Their training program includes training on tanks (perhaps we are talking about armored vehicles) and missile systems, as well as military medicine and sapper work. At the same time, weapons and equipment will be used in the training process, which will then be used by the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the battlefield, as well as simulators and transport of the Spanish army.
In November 2022, it was announced that Spain would train the Kyiv military in cyber defense, with US support.
The training is expected to take place in November at a base in the autonomous community of Madrid and will last two weeks.
We are talking about five Kyiv servicemen. Their training will be carried out by the Spanish joint command of cyberspace.
Earlier, Spain began training the Kyiv military in Zaragoza. In November, 400 people will arrive in the country to train at the Spanish Toledo Infantry Academy.
Later in December 2022, the Spanish Ministry of Defense announced plans to train about 2.4 thousand military armed forces per year. The Spanish defense ministry said that from January 2023 it is planned to carry out rotational training of about 400 Ukrainian troops every two months, a total of 2.4 thousand people a year.
Training is planned to be carried out within the framework of modules for basic training, explosive device disposal, combating improvised explosive devices, marksmanship and medical care. The training is organized with the participation of G.O.A. Tactical Industries.
According to the Spanish government, by the end of 2022, a total of 40 supplies of humanitarian aid, military equipment, medical equipment, generators and ambulances were sent to Ukraine through Poland.
In October, 19 Ukrainian servicemen underwent six weeks of training on the use of Aspide air defense systems at the air base in Zaragoza.
From November 9 to 16, 21 servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine studied handling 105-mm howitzers M56 at the base of Alvarez de Sotomayor.
From November to December, 64 Ukrainian servicemen underwent basic military training and cybersecurity courses.
As of December 2022, Spain has already received more than 160 thousand refugees from Ukraine.
2017: €834m for 17 campaigns in other countries (+ 8.2%)
In January 2018, Spanish Defense Minister Maria Dolores de Cospedal presented to the Congress of Deputies data on foreign military missions for 2017, during which 834.9 million euros were allocated for 17 different campaigns. According to the ABC newspaper, based on the total population, which is 46.5 million people, each resident of the country spends 18 euros per year on this article. This amount coming from the Reserve Fund increased by 8.2% compared to the results of 2016.
The most expensive foreign mission in 2017 was the operation in Lebanon, which cost the treasury 138 million euros. In this country, which plays a key role in terms of maintaining stability in the Middle East, there are 618 soldiers from UN countries. Spain joined them in September 2006.
Along with this, Cospedal also announced the expansion of the detachment sent to Mali, which will grow from 140 to 292 employees. Starting January 31, 2018, the Spanish general Enrique Millan Martinez takes over the command. The main task of the campaign is to train the Malian military to fight jihadists.
Equipment
2022: Spain empties its warehouses to send uniforms to Ukraine
The depletion of the clothing stock due to the sending of a large amount of winter equipment to Ukraine forced the Spanish army to urgently purchase winter clothes, Breitbart news reported in August 2022.
A week after the Spanish defense department announced the sending of a large batch of equipment to Ukraine to work in low temperatures, a contract was signed in the amount of 5.8 million euros.
In the announcement of the tender, the Spanish army noted that it produces urgent purchases of winter uniforms, "because the warehouses are empty, and it is necessary to provide material with personnel who have been transferred to the area of operations as soon as possible."
The Spanish Ministry of Defense previously promised to send its assistance to Ukraine in September 2022, including 30 thousand sets of warm and field uniforms, 15.6 thousand jackets, 15 thousand sets of clothing for adverse weather conditions and several thousand other items of clothing.
History
2023: Defence spending - 1.2% of GDP
1805: Battle of Trafalgar
See also
| The site content is translated by machine translation software powered by PROMT. The machine-translated articles are not always perfect and may contain errors in vocabulary, syntax or grammar. Read original article If you find inaccuracies or errors in the results of machine translation, please write to editor@tadviser.ru. We will make every effort to correct them as soon as possible. |