Spanish Air and Space Force
Spanish Air and Space Force | |
---|---|
Ejército del Aire y del Espacio | |
Per aspera ad astra | |
March | Spanish Air and Space Force Anthem |
Anniversaries | 10 December |
Engagements |
|
Website | ejercitodelaire |
Commanders | |
A400M |
The Spanish Air and Space Force (SASF) (Spanish: Ejército del Aire y del Espacio, lit. 'Army of the Air and Space') is the aerial and space warfare branch of the Spanish Armed Forces.
History
Early stages
The
The established institution became militarized under the name Aeronáutica Española when Colonel Pedro Vives was chosen to lead it as director of the Aeronáutica Militar, Military Aeronautics, the name of the air arm of the Spanish Army. Captain Alfredo Kindelán was named Chief of Aviation, Jefe de Aviación.[3]
On 17 December 1913, during the war with Morocco, a Spanish expeditionary squadron of the Aeronáutica Española became the first organized military air unit to see combat during the first systematic bombing in history by dropping aerial bombs from a Lohner Flecha (Arrow) airplane on the plain of Ben Karrix in Morocco.[3][4] During the years that followed, most of the military activity of the Spanish Air Force would take place in Northern Morocco.
In 1915 Spain's first seaplane base was opened at
In 1920 two
In 1921, following the
In 1926 a crew of Spanish aviators, that included
In 1930 the Aeronaval Base in
Following a Government decree dated 2d October 1935, the Dirección General de Aeronáutica was placed under the authority of the War Ministry, Ministerio de la Guerra, instead of under the Presidencia del Gobierno, following which in 1936 the Air Force regional units became restructured. Accordingly, the Spanish Navy-based Escuadra model was replaced by Región Militardivisions which are still operative today.[6]
Air warfare in the Spanish Civil War
After the military rebellion that triggered the Spanish Civil War, Spanish military aviation was divided into the Air Force of the Spanish republican government and the National Aviation (Aviación Nacional), established by the rebel army.
In July 1936, right after the coup, the first German
Many innovative, and often lethal, aeronautical bombing techniques were tested by Germany's Condor Legion forces on Spanish soil against the areas that remained loyal to the Republican Government with the permission of Generalísimo Franco. Nazi help to the Nationalist Air Force was part of Hitler's
The Spanish Republican Air Force became practically irrelevant after the Battle of the Ebro in 1938 when the root of the Spanish Republican Armed Forces was broken.[12] Finally it was completely disbanded after the victory on April 1, 1939.
Post-Civil War era
The present Spanish Air Force (Ejército del Aire, or EdA) was officially established on 7 October 1939, after the end of the
After the changes introduced at the beginning of Franco's regime the Air Regions and their Command centres were the following:
- 1st Air Region. Central.
- 2nd Air Region. Straits.
- 3rd Air Region. East.
- 4th Air Region. Pyrenees.
- 5th Air Region. Atlantic.
- Balearic Islands Air Zone
- Morocco Air Zone
- Canary Islands and West Africa Air Zone
The
During the first years after World War II the Spanish Francoist Air Force consisted largely of German and Italian planes and copies of them. An interesting example was the HA-1112-M1L Buchón (Pouter), this was essentially a licensed production of the Messerschmitt Bf 109 re-engined with a Rolls-Royce Merlin 500-45 for use in Spain.[15]
In March 1946 the first Spanish military paratroop unit, the Primera Bandera de la Primera Legión de Tropas de Aviación, was established in
Although in sheer numbers the EdA was impressive, at the end of World War II technically it had become more or less obsolete due to the progress in aviation technology during the war. For budget reasons Spain actually kept many of the old German aircraft operative well into the 1950s and 1960s. As an example the last
Links were established in the 1950s with the United States. Spain received its first jets, like the
Present times
After the death of dictator Franco in 1975 and the ensuing
The Spanish Air and Space Force is replacing older aircraft in the inventory with newer ones including
Unlike the air forces of most major
Its aerobatic display team is the
In July 2014 the Spanish Air Force joined the European Air Transport Command, headquartered at Eindhoven Airbase in the Netherlands.[26]
The Spanish Government announced in June 2022 that the Spanish Air Force would be renamed as the Spanish Air and Space Force.[27]
On January 9, 2024, the Space Command was formally established.[28]
Organization
The basic organization of the Air and Space Force is the following:
- Chief of Staff of the Air and Space Force(JEMAE)
- Air and Space Force Headquarters (CGEAE) in Madrid
- Combat Air Command (MACOM) at Torrejón Air Base
- General Air Command (MAGEN) in Madrid
- Canary Islands Air Command (MACAN) in Las Palmas
- Logistic Support command (MALOG) in Madrid
- Personnel Command (MAPER) in Madrid
- Economic Affairs Directorate (DAE) in Madrid
Force structure
The main operational formation of the SAF is the ala (wing), roughly equivalent to an army brigade. An ala is normally composed of three grupos (groups, army regiment equivalents) - an operations group called Grupo de Fuerzas Aéreas (Air Force Group, shortened to Grupo and followed by a numerical) including the aviation squadrons and a flight operations support squadron. An operations group is normally composed of two or three escuadrones (squadrons), each one normally consisting of 18 to 24 aircraft. Thus, Ala 15, with its base in Zaragoza Air Base, is formed by two squadrons with 18 F/A-18s each. Another group within the wing is the Grupo de Material, providing maintenance and repairs to the aircraft, their weapons and systems. The Grupo de Apoyo completes the typical wing structure and it is the air base group, providing the functioning of the air base as a military installation. A variation of the wing structure is the Ala 11 in Morón de la Frontera air base, which has not one, but two operational groups. The Grupo 11 operates Eurofighter aircraft in the multi-mission fighter role, while the Grupo 22 operates P-3 Orion aircraft in the maritime patrol and ASW role and correspondingly there are two separate maintenance squadrons for the two aircraft types.[29]
Smaller operational units are the separate groups. They are also army regiment equivalents, but unlike the wings they are composite units, in which the operational aircraft, the maintenance and the air base squadrons report directly to the group. Such example is the 47/o. Grupo Mixto de Fuerzas Aéreas (47th Air Force Composite Group) a mixed intelligence, electronic warfare and aerial navigation systems calibration unit at Torrejón de Ardoz air base.[30]
When an air base houses more than one ala or multiple separate grupos, the function of a lodger unit is provided by an air force installation unit (an army regiment equivalent) called Groupment of the ... Air Force Base (Agrupación de la Base Aérea de ...). Three such examples are the Agrupación de la Base Aérea de Torrejon,[31] the Agrupación de la Base Aérea de Cuatro Vientos[32] and the Agrupación de la Base Aérea de Zaragoza.[33] An agrupación could be responsible for the support of air force operations at more than one airfield (military or civilian). As an example the Groupment of the Zaragoza Air Force Base is responsible for the mixed use military / civilian airfields of Zaragoza, Logroño-Agoncillo and Huesca-Pirineos. An air force base, which does not house flying units is classified as an Acuartelamiento Aéreo (roughly translated as Air Force Installation in English, one such example is the Acuartelamiento Aéreo Bardenas, supporting the Bardenas Reales training range) and an airfield, which does not house permanently flying units is classified as an Aerodromo Militar (military airfield), such as the Aerodromo Militar de Pollensa.
Air bases
- Alcantarilla Air Base
- Armilla Air Base
- Cuatro Vientos Air Base
- Gando Air Base
- Getafe Air Base
- Los Llanos Air Base
- Matacán Air Base
- Morón Air Base
- San Javier Air Base
- Santiago Air Base
- Son San Joan Air Base
- Talavera Air Base
- Torrejón Air Base
- Villanubla Air Base
- Zaragoza Air Base
Defunct air bases
Aircraft
Current inventory
Aircraft | Origin | Type | Variant | In service | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Combat aircraft | |||||
F/A-18 Hornet | United States | multirole | EF-18A | 84[34] | 12 EF-18BM’s provide conversion training |
Eurofighter Typhoon | Spain | multirole | EF 2000 | 68 | 20 on order[34] |
Maritime patrol | |||||
CASA C-212 | Spain | maritime patrol | 3[34] | ||
CASA CN-235 | Spain / Indonesia | patrol / SAR | 9 | 1 aircraft used for surveillance[34] | |
CASA C-295 | Spain | maritime patrol | 16 on order[35] | ||
Electronic warfare | |||||
Dassault Falcon 20 | France | electronic-warfare | 1[34] | ||
Aerial firefighting | |||||
Bombardier CL-415
|
Canada | water bomber | 3[36] | ||
Bombardier CL-215
|
Canada | water bomber | 14[36] | ||
Transport | |||||
King Air | United States | utility | 90 | 3[34] | |
CASA C-212 | Spain | transport | 8[34] | ||
Airbus A310 | Multi-national | VIP transport | A310-304 | 2[37] | |
Airbus A400M | France / Spain | tactical airlift | 13 | 4 aircraft providing aerial refueling - 14 on order[34] | |
Airbus A330 MRTT | Europe | transport / tanker | 3 on order[38] | ||
Dassault Falcon 900 | France | VIP transport | Falcon 900B | 5[39] | |
CASA C-295 / 235 | Spain | transport | 13[35] | ||
Cessna Citation V | United States | aerial reconnaissance[40] | 3[41] | ||
Helicopters
| |||||
NHI NH90 | Europe | utility | 6 | 6 on order[34] | |
Sikorsky S-76 | United States | utility | 8[34] | Also provides rotorcraft training (To be replaced by the H-135) | |
Eurocopter AS332 | France | utility / CSAR | 12[34] | ||
Trainer aircraft
| |||||
T-35 Pillán | Chile | trainer | 34[34] | ||
CASA C-101
|
Spain | jet trainer | 41[34] | ||
Northrop F-5 | United States | jet trainer | F-5M | 19[34] | |
Pilatus PC-21 | Switzerland | primary trainer | 24[34] | Additional order of 16[42] | |
Airbus H135 | Germany | rotorcraft trainer | 2[43] | 9 more being delivered between 2023 and 2026[44] | |
Eurocopter EC120 | France | rotorcraft trainer | 14[34] | ||
UAV | |||||
MQ-9A Predator B | United States | MALE UCAV
|
4[45] |
Aircraft identification
The Spanish Air and Space Force has its own alphanumeric system for identifying aircraft. This forms a prefix to the airframe serial number, usually marked on the tail. The letter or letters, correspond to the use given. Thus, C means cazabombardero (fighter bomber); A, ataque (attack); P, patrulla (patrol); T, transporte (transport); E, enseñanza (training); D, search and rescue; H, helicopter; K, tanker; V, Vertical Take Off and Landing (VTOL); and U, utility. An example would be that the F/A-18 with "C.15-08" on the tail is the fifteenth type of fighter that arrived in the Spanish Air and Space Force (the Eurofighter is the C.16) and is the eighth example of this type to enter the SAF. On the nose or fuselage the aircraft has a numeral specific to the unit in which it is based.
Variants of planes in service, for example two-seater versions or tanker versions of transports planes, add another letter to differentiate their function, and have their own sequence of serial numbers separate from the primary versions. Example: "CE.15-02" will be the second F/A-18 two-seater (Fighter Trainer) delivered to the SAF. In addition, the aircraft used by the Spanish Air and Space Force usually carry a code consisting of one or two digits followed by a dash and two numbers, painted on the nose or fuselage. The first number corresponds to the unit to which they belong, and the second the order in which they entered service. Example: the fourth F/A-18 arriving at Ala 12 will have on the nose the code "12-04". Those codes do change when the aircraft is re-allocated to a different unit.[citation needed]
Ranks
Officers
NATO code | OF-10 | OF-9 | OF-8 | OF-7 | OF-6 | OF-5 | OF-4 | OF-3 | OF-2 | OF-1 | OF(D) | Student officer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Spanish Air and Space Force[46] |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Capitán general | General del aire | Teniente general | General de división | General de brigada | Coronel | Teniente coronel | Comandante | Capitán | Teniente | Alférez |
Non-commissioned officers and enlisted rank insignia
NATO code | OR-9 | OR-8 | OR-7 | OR-6 | OR-5 | OR-4 | OR-3 | OR-2 | OR-1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Spanish Air and Space Force[46] |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Suboficial mayor | Subteniente | Brigada | Sargento primero | Sargento | Cabo mayor | Cabo primero | Cabo | Soldado de primera | Soldado |
Spanish air aces
Spanish Civil War
- Joaquín García-Morato y Castaño
- Julio Salvador Díaz-Benjumea
- Manuel Vázquez Sagastizábal
- Arístides García-López Rengel
- Miguel Zambudio Martínez
- Ángel Salas Larrazábal
- Miguel García Pardo
- Andrés García Calle
- Manuel Aguirre López
- Joaquín Velasco Fernández Nespral
- Carlos Bayo Alessandri
- Manuel Zarauza Clavero
- Juan Lario
- Javier Allende Isasi
- Esteban Ibarreche Arriaga
- Felipe del Rio Crespo
- Emilio O'Connor Valdivielso
- José Larios Fernández
- José María Bravo Fernández-Hermosa
- Leopoldo Morquillas Rubio
World War II
- Vicente Aldecoa Lecanda
- Dámaso Arango López
- Luis Azqueta Brunet
- Vicente Beltrán
- Fernando Bengoa Cremades
- Mariano Cuadra Medina
- Lorenzo Lucas Fernández Peña
- José Ramón Gavilán Ponce de León
- Antonio García Cano
- Juan Lario Sánchez
- José Luis Larrañaga
- Ángel Salas Larrazábal
- José Mateos Recio
- Bernardo Meneses Orozco
- Francisco Meroño Pellicer
- José Pascual Santamaría
- Fernando Sánchez Arjona Courtoy
- Manuel Sánchez-Tabernero de Prada
- Francisco Valiente Zárraga
- Manuel Zarauza Claver
See also
- Aviazione Legionaria
- Bombing of Guernica
- Condor Legion
- German re-armament
- Patrulla Águila
- List of F-104 Starfighter operators
- Museo del Aire
- Emblems of the Spanish Air and Space Force
- Spanish Air and Space Force Anthem
- Spanish Air Force Order of Battle
- Spanish Civil War
- Spanish Republican Air Force
Notes
References
- ^ "Alerta por falta de personal en el Ejército del Aire: se necesitan 5.000 militares". La Gaceta (in European Spanish). 21 March 2018. Archived from the original on 6 October 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
- ^ "Ejército del aire. Aeronaves". Archived from the original on 6 August 2008. Retrieved 7 August 2008.
- ^ a b Ejército del Aire – 1913 Archived 2010-09-25 at the Wayback Machine (in Spanish)
- ^ "Aeroplano, n. 23, 2005" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 August 2010. Retrieved 5 November 2010.
- ^ Ejército del Aire. "Ejército del aire. 1920". Archived from the original on 15 December 2014. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
- ^ a b Ejército del Aire. "Ejército del aire. 1936". Archived from the original on 20 December 2014. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
- ^ "Hispano Suiza E-30". Archived from the original on 24 May 2011.
- ^ "Blackburn T.1/T.2 Swift/Dart with 1927 Aeronáutica Naval markings". Archived from the original on 20 October 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
- ^ "Blackburn T.3 Velos with 1927 Aeronáutica Naval markings". Archived from the original on 20 October 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
- ^ "Hitler Speech on Foreign Policy (1937)". Archived from the original on 10 August 2014. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
- ISBN 978-0-7538-2165-7
- ^ "La Batalla del Ebro – Mequinensa.com" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 July 2011.
- ^ Ejército del Aire. "Ejército del aire. Aeronaves". Archived from the original on 22 November 2014. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
- ISBN 978-84-9734-514-9
- ^ Fitzsimons, Bernard, ed. Illustrated Encyclopedia of 20th Century Weapons and Warfare (London: Phoebus, 1978), Volume 11, p.1193, "HA-1109/1112".
- ^ Ejército del Aire. "Ejército del aire. 1946". Archived from the original on 25 December 2014. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
- ^ "Marcelino Sempere Doménech, El Ejército del Aire en la Guerra de Sidi Ifni, Universidad de Murcia" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 July 2011.
- ^ Ejército del Aire. "Ejército del aire. Escuela Militar de Paracaidismo". Archived from the original on 25 December 2014. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
- ^ Gonzalez Serrano, Jose Luis Fifty Years of DC service: Douglas Transports used by the Spanish Air Force Air Enthusiast No. 80 March/April 1999 pp61-71
- ^ "Beechcraft T-34 A. Mentor". publicaciones.defensa.gob.es (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 26 October 2022. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
- ^ Ejército del Aire. "Ejército del aire. Balcanes" [Air Force. Balkans] (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 6 January 2010. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
- ^ Ripley, Tim (2001). Conflict in the Balkans, 1991-2000. Pen and Sword. p. 23.
- ^ "Target Lock: Eurofighter Typhoon : Production". Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
- ^ "Airbus, a leading aircraft manufacturer". Archived from the original on 17 July 2012. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
- ^ Ejército del Aire. "Ejército del aire. Patrullas" [Air Force. Patrols] (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 22 December 2014. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
- ^ "Spain is now member of the EATC - Articles - EATC - European Air Transport Command". Archived from the original on 7 July 2014. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
- ^ Cedeira, Brais (27 June 2022). "El Ejército del Aire cambia de nombre tras 83 años y pasa a llamarse Ejército del Aire y del Espacio" [The Air Force changes its name after 83 years and is renamed the Air and Space Force]. El Español (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 June 2022.
- ^ "Spain stands up new Space Command".
- ^ "Ejército del Aire - Organización - Unidades - Detalle unidad". ejercitodelaire.defensa.gob.es. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
- ^ "Ejército del Aire - Organización - Unidades - Detalle unidad". ejercitodelaire.defensa.gob.es. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
- ^ "Ejército del Aire - Organización - Unidades - Detalle unidad". ejercitodelaire.defensa.gob.es. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
- ^ "Ejército del Aire - Organización - Unidades - Detalle unidad". ejercitodelaire.defensa.gob.es. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
- ^ "Ejército del Aire - Organización - Unidades - Detalle unidad". ejercitodelaire.defensa.gob.es. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "World Air Forces 2023". Flight Global. Flightglobal Insight. 2022. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
- ^ a b "Spain orders 16 Airbus C295 in Maritime Patrol and Surveillance configurations" (Press release). Airbus. 20 December 2023. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
- ^ a b "World Air Forces 2017". Flightglobal Insight. 2017. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
- ^ "Spanish Air Force Fleet of A310 (Active)". airfleets.net. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
- ^ "Spanish Ministry of Defence signs order for three Airbus A330 MRTT | Airbus". 11 November 2021.
- ^ "Dassault Falcon-900 (T.18-5)— Spanish Air Force". planefinder.net. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
- ^ "Spanish Air Force Equipment". ejercitodelaire.defensa.gob.es. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
- ^ "World Air Forces 2022". Flightglobal. 2022. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
- . May 2023. p. 12.
- ^ "Los Airbus Helicopters H135 se incorporan a la base de Armilla". Fly News. Luis Calvo.
- ^ "H-135 Press Release Spanish Ministry of Defence". 9 May 2023.
- ^ "Los dos últimos drones Predator del Ejército del Aire ya están en España". Infodefensa. 28 November 2020. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
- ^ a b "Army Ranks & Insignia". Ejército de Tierra. Ministry of Defence (Spain). Retrieved 30 May 2021.
Bibliography
- Avila Cruz, Gonzalo (January–February 2004). "Birth of a Modern Force: North American F-86F Sabres in Spain". Air Enthusiast (109): 29–45. ISSN 0143-5450.
- Mafé Huertas, Salvador (Spring 1994). "Spain's First 'Flat-Irons': The Mirage III Era". ISSN 0143-5450.