Spanish Armed Forces


The Spanish Armed Forces are in charge of guaranteeing the sovereignty and independence of the Kingdom of Spain, defending its territorial integrity and the constitutional order, according to the functions entrusted to them by the Constitution of 1978. They are composed of: the Army, the Air and Space Force, the Navy, the Royal Guard, and the Military Emergencies Unit, as well as the so-called Common Corps.
Spain occupies a prominent position in the structure of NATO, which it joined in 1982. Yet, it spends significantly less than 2% of GDP on defence, as advised by NATO. This puts it among the countries with the lowest spending within NATO.
Spain has the oldest Marine Infantry in the world and the oldest permanent military units in the world: the Infantry Regiment "Inmemorial del Rey" No. 1 and the Infantry Regiment "Soria" No. 9.

History

After the long Reconquista ending in 1492, Spain evolved into Europe's foremost power with the voyages of Christopher Columbus the same year, leading to Spain acquiring vast lands in the Americas and conquering a number of overseas civilizations in the decades to come. The period of reconquest of Iberia had ended, and now Spain entered an era of overseas conquest spearheaded by conquistadors. The conquest of the Aztec Empire, the conquest of the Inca Empire and the conquest of the Philippines ensued propelling Spain to the foremost military superpower of the time. Spain was also victorious over the French in the Italian Wars, annexing southern Italy. 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% being the first empire which the Sun never sets. By the mid 17th century Spain had been militarily weakened by the Thirty Years War, the Eighty Years War along with financial problems, and the lack of reforms, though still holding firm to the bulk of the American Continent.
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 during the war of Jenkins' Ear defending overseas territory, won the war of Austrian Succession but had mixed result during the Seven Years' War. Spain had also led successful campaigns in the American Revolutionary War. Spain had recovered considerably by the outbreak of the French Revolution, by 1790, the Spanish Empire was the largest empire in the world. The occupation of a great part of Spain by the French during the Napoleonic Wars resulted in Peninsular War, which was characterized by use on a large scale of guerrilla troops, made necessary by the war's devastating effect on the Spanish economy. Although victorious in the Peninsular War over Napoleonic France, the Spanish military was in poor condition and political instability resulted in the loss of most of Spain's former colonies, who had rebelled against Spanish rule in the Spanish American wars of independence, except Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. These too would be lost later in the Spanish–American War.
In the 20th century, the Spanish armed forces did not intervene in the First World War or in the Second World War, although they did intervene in the Spanish Civil War and in some colonial conflicts. After the arrival of democracy in 1978, they underwent a strong modernization process, becoming modern armed forces. In 1982 Spain entered NATO.
Recently, in the last decades of the 20th century and the first decades of the 21st, Spanish troops have participated together with their Western allies in operations such as Gulf War, NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, KFOR, war on terror, 2011 military intervention in Libya, Combined Task Force 150 and UNIFIL.

Today

Spain participated along with France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Denmark, the United States and Canada in the 2011 intervention against Muammar Gaddafi in Libya, contributing a tanker, 4 F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets, a frigate, a submarine and a surveillance aircraft, along with logistical support from the Naval Station Rota and the Morón Air Base.
Spain has belonged to NATO since 1982. The decision was ratified in the 1986 referendum by the Spanish people. The conditions were the reduction of American military bases, non-integration of Spain in the military structure of NATO, and the prohibition of introducing nuclear weapons in Spain.

Current missions

As of 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.
According to the National Security Department of Spain, these are the current missions of the armed forces and civil guard:
  • Missions with the European Union
  • *EUTM Mali : Advisory mission in the security and training sector of the Malian National Army. 130 deployed military personnel.
  • *EUTM CAR : Training mission of the Armed Forces of the Government of the Central African Republic. The Eurocorps is in charge of carrying out this mission. 19 military deployed.
  • *EUTM SOMALIA : Training mission of the Somali Armed Forces, with the cooperation of the UN and the African Union. 16 military deployed.
  • *Operation Atalanta : Mission to combat piracy in the Indian Ocean as well as protection of the UN food program. 338 deployed military.
  • *EUFOR ALTHEA BOSNIA : Advisory mission to the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina. 3 military deployed.
  • * EUNAVFOR MED-SOPHIA : Mission to combat trafficking in human beings and prevention of loss of life in the Mediterranean. 261 deployed military personnel.
  • Missions with NATO
  • * Operation Sea Guardian : Mission to fight against terrorism in the Mediterranean. 119 military deployed.
  • * SNMG1 / SNMG2 / SNMCMG2: NATO first-responder permanent naval units. 251 deployed military personnel.
  • * Baltic Air Policing : Mission to protect the airspace of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. 128 deployed military personnel.
  • * Enhanced Forward Presence : Mission of presence of NATO in the Baltic Sea region following the annexation of Crimea by Russia. 310 military deployed.
  • *Operation Active Fence : Mission to reinforce Turkey's air defense against the threat of ballistic missiles from Syria. 149 deployed military personnel.
  • Missions with UN
  • * UNIFIL : Peacekeeping Monitoring Mission between Lebanon and Israel. 620 soldiers and civil guards deployed.
  • * UN COLOMBIA : Mission of observers of the peace process in Colombia. 14 deployed military personnel.
  • Coalition against Daesh
  • * INHERENT RESOLVE : Training mission of Iraqi forces to fight the Daesh. 463 soldiers and civil guards deployed.
  • Security cooperation with France
  • *Support for Mali-Senegal : Military support to France to facilitate air transport of French and EU operations in Mali and Sahel. 61 military deployed.
  • *Support for the Central African Republic : Military support for France and the EU to facilitate air transport in its operations. 45 military deployed.
  • National missions of cooperation with Senegal and Cape Verde
  • * Support for Senegal : Cooperative security activities with other countries. 34 deployed military personnel.
  • * Support for Cape Verde : Cooperative security activities with other countries. 59 deployed military personnel.
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 safeguard maritime traffic in the Horn of Africa. 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 six dogs, three scientific police and a Boeing 707 of supplies transport of the Air and Space Force.
The cost of these missions abroad amounts to approximately 800 million euros per year.

Command structure

The commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces is the Monarch; with the ex officio rank of Captain General in the Army, Navy and Air and Space Force. The Spanish Constitution of 1978 states in article 62 that the King of Spain shall have "supreme command of the Armed Forces"; however under article 64, all official acts of the Monarch must be countersigned by the President of the Government to become valid.
The President of the Government, as the head of government, is responsible under article 97 for "domestic and foreign policy, civil and military administration and the defense of the State", and thus bears the ultimate responsibility before the Cortes Generales, and the Spanish electorate.
The Minister of Defense is in charge of running the Ministry of Defense, which carries out the day-to-day administration of the forces. The President of the Government and the Minister of Defense are civilians. No provision in the Constitution requires the Government to seek approval from the Cortes Generales before sending the armed forces abroad.
The Chief of the Defense Staff directs the Defense Staff and is the senior military advisor to the Minister and the Government. The military leadership of the three military services are: the Chief of Staff of the Army, the Chief of Staff of the Air and Space Force and the Chief of Staff of the Navy.
The structure, and incumbents as of 2025, are:
  1. Commander in Chief: King Felipe VI, Captain General of the Armed Forces
  2. President of the Government: Pedro Sánchez.
  3. Minister of Defence: Margarita Robles.
  4. Chief of the Defense Staff: Admiral General Teodoro E. López Calderón.
  5. The Chiefs of Staff of the branches:
  6. : Chief of Staff of the Army: Army General Amador Fernando Enseñat y Berea.
  7. : Chief of Staff of the Navy: Admiral General Antonio Piñeiro Sánchez.
  8. : Chief of Staff of the Air and Space Force: Air General Francisco Braco Carbó.