, colours = , colours_label = , march = Spanish Air and Space Force Anthem , mascot = , anniversaries = 10 December , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles = *

Rif War The Rif War () was an armed conflict fought from 1921 to 1926 between Spain (joined by France in 1924) and the Berber tribes of the mountainous Rif region of northern Morocco. Led by Abd el-Krim, the Riffians at first inflicted several d ...

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlism, Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebeli ...

Ifni War The Ifni War, sometimes called the Forgotten War in Spain (''la Guerra Olvidada''), was a series of armed incursions into Spanish West Africa by Moroccan insurgents that began in October 1957 and culminated with the abortive siege of Sidi ...

* Yugoslav wars *

Kosovo War The Kosovo War was an armed conflict in Kosovo that started 28 February 1998 and lasted until 11 June 1999. It was fought by the forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (i.e. Serbia and Montenegro), which controlled Kosovo before the w ...

* Libyan Civil War , decorations = , battle_honours = , battle_honours_label = , flying_hours = , website = , commander1 =

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the ...

Felipe VI Felipe VI (;, * eu, Felipe VI.a, * ca, Felip VI, * gl, Filipe VI, . Felipe Juan Pablo Alfonso de Todos los Santos de Borbón y Grecia; born 30 January 1968) is King of Spain. He is the son of former King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofía, an ...

, commander1_label = Commander-in-Chief
(

Captain General Captain general (and its literal equivalent in several languages) is a high military rank of general officer grade, and a gubernatorial title. History The term "Captain General" started to appear in the 14th century, with the meaning of Comma ...

) , commander2 = Air General Javier Salto , commander2_label = Chief of Staff , commander3 = , commander3_label = , commander4 = , commander4_label = , commander5 = , commander5_label = , notable_commanders = , identification_symbol = Roundel of Spain

, identification_symbol_label = Roundel , identification_symbol_2 = Fin Flash of Spain

, identification_symbol_2_label = Fin flash , aircraft_attack = MQ-9 Reaper , aircraft_bomber = , aircraft_electronic = Falcon 20 , aircraft_fighter = F/A-18 Hornet, Eurofighter Typhoon , aircraft_helicopter = AS532 Cougar, AS332 Super Puma, NH90 , aircraft_helicopter_attack = , aircraft_helicopter_cargo = , aircraft_helicopter_multirole = , aircraft_helicopter_observation = , aircraft_helicopter_trainer = Colibrí, Sikorsky S-76 , aircraft_helicopter_utility = , aircraft_interceptor = , aircraft_patrol = P-3 Orion, CASA CN-235, CASA C-212 , aircraft_recon = Cessna Citation V, MQ-9 Reaper , aircraft_trainer = F/A-18 Hornet, F-5, CASA C-101, T-35 Pillán , aircraft_transport = CASA C-295, CASA CN-235, CASA C-212, King Air, A400M, Airbus A310, Falcon 900 , aircraft_tanker = A400M , aircraft_general = The Spanish Air and Space Force (SASF) ( es, Ejército del Aire y del Espacio, , Army of the Air and Space) is the aerial and space warfare branch of the Spanish Armed Forces.

History

Early stages

Hot air balloons have been used with military purposes in Spain as far back as 1896. In 1905, with the help of

Alfredo Kindelán Alfredo Kindelán y Duany, 1st Marquess of Kindelán (13 March 1879, in Santiago de Cuba – 14 December 1962, in Madrid) was a Spanish general and politician. A close ally of Francisco Franco before and during the Spanish Civil War, thei ...

, Leonardo Torres y Quevedo directed the construction of the first Spanish dirigible in the Army Military Aerostatics Service, created in 1896 and located in Guadalajara. The new airship was completed successfully and, named 'España', made numerous test and exhibition flights. The Spanish Army's air arm, however, took off formally in 1909 when Colonel

Pedro Vives Vich Pedro is a masculine given name. Pedro is the Spanish, Portuguese, and Galician name for '' Peter''. Its French equivalent is Pierre while its English and Germanic form is Peter. The counterpart patronymic surname of the name Pedro, meani ...

and Captain Alfredo Kindelán made an official trip to different European cities to check the potential of introducing airships and

airplane An airplane or aeroplane (informally plane) is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and wing configurations. The broad spe ...

s in the Spanish Armed Forces. One year later a Royal decree established the National Aviation School () in Getafe, near

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), an ...

, under the Ministry of Public Works and Transport (). The established institution became militarized under the name when Colonel Pedro Vives was chosen to lead it as director of the , Military Aeronautics, the name of the air arm of the Spanish Army. Captain Alfredo Kindelán was named Chief of Aviation, .Ejército del Aire – 1913
On 17 December 1913, during the war with

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria ...

, a Spanish expeditionary squadron of the 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

. 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 Los Alcazares on the Mar Menor in the Murcia region and Alfredo Kindelán was named Military Aeronautics Director, displacing Pedro Vives. The Catalan Flying School was established in Can Tunis,

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ...

the following year and Getafe Aerodrome became a full-fledged military air base. In 1919 General Francisco Echagüe replaced Kindelán as leader of the . In 1920 two Nieuport 80 and one Caudron G.3 were first painted with squadron identification numbers and the Spanish Air Force roundel. Shortly thereafter the , the air branch of the Spanish Navy, already established through a Royal decree four years earlier, became functional in El Prat, in the same location as present-day Barcelona Airport. Ministerio del Aire (Madrid) 02

In 1921, following the

Spanish defeat at Annual The Battle of Annual was fought on 22 July 1921 at Annual, in northeastern Morocco, between the Spanish Army and Rifian Berbers during the Rif War. The Spanish suffered a major military defeat, which is almost always referred to by the Spanish ...

, known as in Spain, the Zeluán Aerodrome was taken over by the Rif army and another aerodrome was built at Nador. Lieutenant Colonel Kindelán was named , becoming chief-commander of the air force in 1926, at the time when Spanish Morocco was retaken and the

ended. In 1926 a crew of Spanish aviators, that included Ramón Franco, Julio Ruiz de Alda,

Juan Manuel Duran ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of '' John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, ...

and Pablo Rada, completed the first Trans-Atlantic flight between Spain and South America in January 1926 on the ''Plus Ultra''. That same year, pilots González Gallarza, Joaquín Loriga Taboada and Rafael Martínez Esteve completed the first flight between Spain and the Philippines, in just one month. The expedition was flown with two Breguet 19 and known as the or "Elcano Squadron". In 1930 the Aeronaval Base in San Javier was established and in the same year a pro-Republican revolt in the Cuatro Vientos military aerodrome near Madrid was quashed. After the proclamation of the Second Spanish Republic in 1931, General

Luis Lombarte Serrano Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish form of the originally Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese and Galician, in Aragonese and Catalan, while is archa ...

replaced Kindelán as chief-commander of the air force, but he would be quickly succeeded by Commander Ramón Franco, younger brother of later dictator

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War and thereafter ruled over Spain from 19 ...

. Captain

Cipriano Rodríguez Díaz Cipriano may refer to: * Cipriano (given name) Cipriano is a masculine given name. Notable people with the name include: First name * Cipriano Branco (born 1985), East Timorese footballer * Cipriano Cassamá (21st century), Bissau-Guinean politic ...

and Lieutenant

Carlos de Haya González Carlos may refer to: Places ;Canada * Carlos, Alberta, a locality ;United States * Carlos, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Carlos, Maryland, a place in Allegany County * Carlos, Minnesota, a small city * Carlos, West Virginia ;Elsewhere ...

flew non-stop to Equatorial Guinea, then a Spanish colonial outpost. Under Capitan Warlela cadastral surveys of Spain were carried out using modern methods of aerial photography in 1933. The following year Spanish engineer Juan de la Cierva took off and landed on seaplane carrier Dédalo with his autogyro C-30P. In 1934 Commander Eduardo Sáenz de Buruaga became new chief-commander of the air force. Following a Government decree dated 2d October 1935, the Dirección General de Aeronáutica was placed under the authority of the War Ministry, , instead of under the , following which in 1936 the Air Force regional units became restructured. Accordingly, the Spanish Navy-based model was replaced by divisions which are still operative today.

Air warfare in the Spanish Civil War

After the military rebellion that triggered the

, Spanish military aviation was divided into the Air Force of the Spanish republican government and the National Aviation (), established by the army in revolt. Cierva C

In July 1936, right after the coup, the first German Junkers Ju 52 and Italian Savoia-Marchetti SM.81 arrived to help the rebels and the Fiat CR.32 fighters began operating in the

Córdoba Córdoba most commonly refers to: * Córdoba, Spain, a major city in southern Spain and formerly the imperial capital of Islamic Spain * Córdoba, Argentina, 2nd largest city in the country and capital of Córdoba Province Córdoba or Cordoba may ...

front. In August

Heinkel He 51 The Heinkel He 51 was a German single-seat biplane which was produced in a number of different versions. It was initially developed as a fighter; a seaplane variant and a ground-attack version were also developed. It was a development of th ...

fighters were also deployed. These planes helped the army in revolt to gain full control of the air, as did the German and Italian expeditionary forces, the

Condor Legion The Condor Legion (german: Legion Condor) was a unit composed of military personnel from the air force and army of Nazi Germany, which served with the Nationalist faction during the Spanish Civil War of July 1936 to March 1939. The Condor Le ...

and the Aviazione Legionaria. At first, the Spanish Republican Air Force had the control of great swathes of Spanish territory using a motley selection of planes, but the unwavering help received by

from

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

and

Fascist Italy Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and the ...

reversed the situation. In September 1936 the Navy and Air Ministry, , and the Air Undersecretariat, were established under the command of Indalecio Prieto as minister. The first serious air combat took place over Madrid when Italian bombers attacked the city in a massive bombing operation. In the reorganization of the military in the areas of Spain that had remained loyal to the government, the new military structure of the republic merged the and the , the former being the air arm of the

Spanish Republican Army The Spanish Republican Army ( es, Ejército de la República Española) was the main branch of the Armed Forces of the Second Spanish Republic between 1931 and 1939. It became known as People's Army of the Republic (''Ejército Popular de la Rep ...

and the latter the

naval aviation Naval aviation is the application of Military aviation, military air power by Navy, navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft ...

of the Spanish Republican Navy, and formed the Spanish Republican Air Force. The Republican tricolor roundel was replaced by red bands for identification purposes, an insignia that had previously been used on ''Aeronáutica Naval'' aircraft during the monarchy in the 1920s, before the time of the Republic. 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 German re-armament strategy and the techniques that German Nazi pilots learned in Spain would later be used in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. Despite the devastation and the human casualties caused by the bombing of the Basque city of Guernica in 1937, known by the

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German '' Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the '' Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabt ...

Operation Rügen On 26 April 1937, the Basque town of Guernica (''Gernika'' in Basque) was aerial bombed during the Spanish Civil War. It was carried out at the behest of Francisco Franco's rebel Nationalist faction by its allies, the Nazi German Luftwaffe's ...

, Hitler insisted that his longterm designs in Spain were peaceful. He called his strategy "Blumenkrieg" (Flower War), as evidenced in a January 1937 speech. The international outcry over Guernica, however, would not bring about any increase in the military help provided to the beleaguered Spanish Republic.The pilots of the Spanish Republican Air Force, often young and poorly trained were unable to check the Nazi German and Fascist Italian modern-warfare attacks. Despite Franco's claim that both air forces were equal, and despite the help of foreign pilots, Spanish Republican planes were mostly obsolete and often in a bad state of disrepair. Even after acquiring more planes from the Soviet Union in the mid-stages of the war, the Spanish Republican Air Force was no longer able to control the Spanish skies nor match the power of the German and Italian expeditionary forces in specific combat situations. The Spanish Republican Air Force became practically irrelevant since the Battle of the Ebro in 1938 when the root of the Spanish Republican Armed Forces was broken. Finally it was completely disbanded after the victory on April 1, 1939.

Post-Civil War era

The present Spanish Air Force (, or EdA) was officially established on 7 October 1939, after the end of the

. The EdA was a successor to the Nationalist and Republican Air Forces. Spanish Republican colors disappeared and the black roundel of the planes was replaced by a yellow and red roundel. However, the black and white

Saint Andrew's Cross Saint Andrew's Cross or Andrew Cross may refer to: * The x-shaped cross on which Saint Andrew is said to have been martyred by crucifixion * Saltire, a heraldic symbol in the form of a diagonal cross, including a gallery of flags ** Flag of ...

( es, Aspa de San Andrés) fin flash, the tail insignia of Franco's air force, as well as of the Aviazione Legionaria of Fascist Italy and the Condor Legion of Nazi Germany, is still in use in the present-day Spanish Air Force. 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 East Africa Air Zone F-104G Starfighter (Museo del Aire de Madrid) (6)

F-104G Starfighter (Museo del Aire de Madrid) (6)

The

Blue Squadron The Blue Squadron ( Spanish: ''Escuadrilla Azul'', German: ''15. Spanische Staffel'') was a generic name given to the group of volunteer pilots and ground crews recruited from the Spanish Air Force that fought in the side of Germany on the ...

() was an air unit that fought alongside the

Axis Powers The Axis powers, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were ...

at the time of the Blue Division, ''

Division Azul The Blue Division ( es, División Azul, german: Blaue Division) was a unit of volunteers from Francoist Spain within the German Army (''Wehrmacht'') on the Eastern Front during World War II. It was officially designated the Spanish Volunteer Di ...

'' Spanish volunteer

formation Formation may refer to: Linguistics * Back-formation, the process of creating a new lexeme by removing or affixes * Word formation, the creation of a new word by adding affixes Mathematics and science * Cave formation or speleothem, a secondary ...

. The operated with the Luftwaffe on the Eastern Front and took part in the battle of Kursk. This squadron was the ""/ JG 27 ''Afrika'' of the VIII Fliegerkorps, Luftflotte 2. During the first years after World War II the Spanish 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 The Rolls-Royce Merlin is a British liquid-cooled V-12 piston aero engine of 27- litres (1,650 cu in) capacity. Rolls-Royce designed the engine and first ran it in 1933 as a private venture. Initially known as the PV-12, it was later ...

500-45 for use in Spain. In March 1946 the first Spanish military paratroop unit, the , was established in

Alcalá de Henares Alcalá de Henares () is a Spanish city in the Community of Madrid. Straddling the Henares River, it is located to the northeast of the centre of Madrid. , it has a population of 193,751, making it the region's third-most populated municipality. ...

. It first saw action in the

during 1957 and 1958. Because of US Government objection to use airplanes manufactured in the US in her colonial struggles after World War II, Spain used at first old German aircraft, such as the T-2 (Junkers 52, nicknamed "Pava"), the B-2I (Heinkel 111, nicknamed "Pedro"), the C-4K (Spanish version of the Bf 109, nicknamed "Buchón"), and some others. Still, Grumman Albatross seaplanes and Sikorsky H-19B helicopters were used in rescue operations. This is why still now in present times, EdA maintains a policy of having jet fighters from two different origins, one first line fighter of North American origin, and one from French-European origin (

F-4C Phantom The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American Tandem#Aviation, tandem two-seat, twinjet, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic aircraft, supersonic jet interceptor aircraft, interceptor and fighter-bomber originally developed ...

Mirage F1 The Dassault Mirage F1 is a French Fighter aircraft, fighter and attack aircraft Aircraft design process, designed and manufactured by Dassault Aviation. It was developed as a successor to the popular Dassault Mirage III, Mirage III family. Du ...

, Mirage III; EF-18A / Eurofighter Typhoon). 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 Junkers Ju 52 used to operate in Escuadrón 721 training

parachutist Parachuting, including also skydiving, is a method of transiting from a high point in the atmosphere to the surface of Earth with the aid of gravity, involving the control of speed during the descent using a parachute or parachutes. For ...

s from

Alcantarilla Air Base Alcantarilla () is a town and municipality in southeastern Spain, in the Autonomous Community of the Region of Murcia. The town is only 7 km away from the capital of the region, the city of Murcia, and one of its peculiarities is that it is c ...

near Murcia, until well into the 1970s. The CASA 352 and the CASA 352L were developments built by CASA in the 1950s. Links were established in the 1950s with the United States. Spain received its first jets, like the F-86 Sabre and Lockheed T-33 together with training and transport planes like the T-6 Texan,

C-47 The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota (RAF, RAAF, RCAF, RNZAF, and SAAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in f ...

and

C-54 The Douglas C-54 Skymaster is a four-engined transport aircraft used by the United States Army Air Forces in World War II and the Korean War. Like the Douglas C-47 Skytrain derived from the DC-3, the C-54 Skymaster was derived from a civilian ...

, and the Beechcraft T-34 Mentor. The first series of American jets was replaced in the 1960s by newer fighters like the F-104 Starfighter,

and F-5 Freedom Fighter

Present times

After the death of dictator Franco in 1975 and the ensuing Spanish transition to democracy years, the organization and equipment of the Spanish Air Force was again modernised to prepare for

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

's membership of

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

in 1982. Planes like the Mirage III and

were bought from

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

and became the backbone of the Air Force during the 1970s and part of the 1980s. French fighters formed the air force's mainstay until the arrival of the American F/A-18. Spanish F/A-18s participated in the Bosnian War and the

under

command, based in Aviano,

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. Assisted by

USAF The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

F-16s, Spanish Air Force EF-18As dropped laser-guided bombs on Bosnian Serb ammunition depots at Pale, on 25 and 26 May 1994. EF-18A Spain (16527586494)

The Spanish Air and Space Force is replacing older aircraft in the inventory with newer ones including Eurofighter Typhoon and the recently introduced Airbus A400M Atlas airlifter. Both are manufactured with Spanish participation;

EADS CASA Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA (CASA) was a Spanish aircraft manufacturer that was founded in 1923 and began manufacturing aircraft the following year. In 1999 it became a subsidiary of the EADS (European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company) ...

makes the Eurofighter's right wing and leading edge slats, and participates in the testing and assembly of the airlifter. Unlike the air forces of most major

member states, the Spanish Air and Space Force currently do not operate any AEW&C aircraft. 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 ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. The Spanish Government announced in June 2022 that the Spanish Air Force would be renamed as the Spanish Air and Space Force.

Order of battle

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 Las Palmas (, ; ), officially Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, is a Spain, Spanish city and capital of Gran Canaria, in the Canary Islands, on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital (jointly with Santa Cruz de Tenerife), the most populous city in th ...

** 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 ( wing), roughly equivalent to an army brigade. An is normally composed of three (groups, army regiment equivalents) - an operations group called (Air Force Group, shortened to 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 ( 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 , providing maintenance and repairs to the aircraft, their weapons and systems. The 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 in Morón de la Frontera air base, which has not one, but two operational groups. The operates Eurofighter aircraft in the multi-mission fighter role, while the 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. 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 (47th Air Force Composite Group) a mixed intelligence, electronic warfare and aerial navigation systems calibration unit at Torrejón de Ardoz air base. When an air base houses more than one or multiple separate , 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 (). Three such examples are the , the and the . An 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 , supporting the Bardenas Reales training range) and an airfield, which does not house permanently flying units is classified as an (military airfield), such as the .

Air bases

* Armilla Air Base * Cuatro Vientos Air Base *

Gando Air Base The Gando Air Base (in Spanish: ''Base Aérea de Gando'') is a base of the Spanish Air and Space Force located in the Gran Canaria island, Spain, and next to the Gran Canaria Airport, eastward from its runways. Beyond several hangars opposi ...

* Getafe Air Base *

Los Llanos Air Base Albacete Airport is an airport operated by Aena located about south of the city of Albacete, the capital of the province of Albacete in Castile-La Mancha, Spain. It shares the runway and some facilities with Los Llanos Air Base, operated by t ...

* 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

Agoncillo Air Base Agoncillo may refer to: Places * Agoncillo, La Rioja, a municipality in La Rioja, Spain ** CD Agoncillo, Spanish football team based in Agoncillo ** Logroño-Agoncillo Airport * Agoncillo, Batangas, a municipality in the Province of Batangas, Phili ...

* Manises Air Base *

Reus Air Base Reus () is the capital of Baix Camp, in the province of Tarragona, in Catalonia, Spain. The area has always been an important producer of wines and spirits, and gained continental importance at the time of the Phylloxera plague. Nowadays it is kno ...

* Villafría Air Base

Aircraft

Current inventory

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 (fighter bomber); A, (attack); P, (patrol); T, (transport); E, (training); D, search and rescue; H, helicopter; K, tanker; V, Vertical Take Off and Landing (

VTOL A vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft is one that can take off and land vertically without relying on a runway. This classification can include a variety of types of aircraft including helicopters as well as thrust-vectoring fixed-wi ...

); 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.

Ranks

Officers

Non-commissioned officers and enlisted rank insignia

Spanish air aces

Spanish Civil War

Joaquín García-Morato y Castaño Joaquín or Joaquin is a male given name, the Spanish version of Joachim. Given name * Joaquín (footballer, born 1956), Spanish football midfielder * Joaquín (footballer, born 1981), Spanish football winger * Joaquín (footballer, born 1982) ...

* Julio Salvador Díaz-Benjumea * Manuel Vázquez Sagastizábal * Arístides García-López Rengel * Miguel Zambudio Martínez * Ángel Salas Larrazábal *

Miguel García Pardo --> Miguel is a given name and surname, the Portuguese and Spanish form of the Hebrew name Michael (given name), Michael. It may refer to: Places *Pedro Miguel, a parish in the municipality of Horta and the island of Faial in the Azores Islands ...

Andrés García Calle Andres or Andrés may refer to: *Andres, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Will County, Illinois, US *Andres, Pas-de-Calais, a commune in Pas-de-Calais, France *Andres (name) *Hurricane Andres * "Andres" (song), a 1994 song by L7 See also ...

* Manuel Aguirre López *

Joaquín Velasco Fernández Nespral Joaquín or Joaquin is a male given name, the Spanish version of Joachim. Given name * Joaquín (footballer, born 1956), Spanish football midfielder * Joaquín (footballer, born 1981), Spanish football winger * Joaquín (footballer, born 1982) ...

Carlos Bayo Alessandri Carlos may refer to: Places ;Canada * Carlos, Alberta, a locality ;United States * Carlos, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Carlos, Maryland, a place in Allegany County * Carlos, Minnesota, a small city * Carlos, West Virginia ;Elsewhe ...

Manuel Zarauza Clavero Manuel may refer to: People * Manuel (name) * Manuel (Fawlty Towers), a fictional character from the sitcom ''Fawlty Towers'' * Charlie Manuel, manager of the Philadelphia Phillies * Manuel I Komnenos, emperor of the Byzantine Empire * Manuel ...

* Juan Lario *

Javier Allende Isasi Javier may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Javier, in video game ''Advance Wars: Dual Strike'' * Javier Rios, a character in the Monsters, Inc. franchise. * Javier (album), ''Javier'' (album), a 2003 album by the American singer Javier ...

Esteban Ibarreche Arriaga Esteban () is a Spanish male given name, derived from Greek Στέφανος (Stéphanos) and related to the English names Steven and Stephen. Although in its original pronunciation the accent is on the penultimate syllable, English-speakers tend ...

* Felipe del Rio Crespo * Emilio O'Connor Valdivielso * José Larios Fernández *

José María Bravo Fernández-Hermosa José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacul ...

Leopoldo Morquillas Rubio Leopoldo is a given name, the Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese form of the English, German, Dutch, Polish, and Slovene name, Leopold. Notable people with the name include: *Leopoldo de' Medici (1617–1675), Italian cardinal and Governor of Sien ...

World War II

* Vicente Aldecoa Lecanda *

Dámaso Arango López Dámaso is a Spanish masculine given name. The name is equivalent to that of Pope Damasus I in English. The name also exists in Italian as Damaso, though it is uncommon. People * Dámaso Alonso (1898–1990), Spanish poet * Dámaso Berenguer, 1st ...

* Luis Azqueta Brunet *

Vicente Beltrán Vicente is an Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese name. Like its French variant, Vincent, it is derived from the Latin name ''Vincentius'' meaning "conquering" (from Latin ''vincere'', "to conquer"). Vicente may refer to: Location *São Vicente, Cap ...

Fernando Bengoa Cremades Fernando is a Spanish and Portuguese given name and a surname common in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Switzerland, former Spanish or Portuguese colonies in Latin America, Africa, the Philippines, India, and Sri Lanka. It is equivalent to the Ge ...

Mariano Cuadra Medina Mariano Cuadra Medina (12 May 1912 – 2 March 1981) was a Spanish general who served as Ministry of the Air (Spain), Minister of the Air of Spain between 1974 and 1975, during the Francoist dictatorship. During World War II, he volunteered for s ...

Lorenzo Lucas Fernández Peña Lorenzo may refer to: People * Lorenzo (name) Places Peru * San Lorenzo Island (Peru), sometimes referred to as the island of Lorenzo United States * Lorenzo, Illinois * Lorenzo, Texas * San Lorenzo, California, formerly Lorenzo * Lorenzo State ...

José Ramón Gavilán Ponce de León José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced ...

Antonio García Cano Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular mal ...

Juan Lario Sánchez ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish language, Spanish and Manx language, Manx versions of ''John (given name), John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronoun ...

José Luis Larrañaga José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernac ...

* Ángel Salas Larrazábal *

José Mateos Recio José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacu ...

* Bernardo Meneses Orozco * Francisco Meroño Pellicer * José Pascual Santamaría *

Fernando Sánchez Arjona Courtoy Fernando is a Spanish and Portuguese given name and a surname common in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Switzerland, former Spanish or Portuguese colonies in Latin America, Africa, the Philippines, India, and Sri Lanka. It is equivalent to the G ...

* Manuel Sánchez-Tabernero de Prada *

Francisco Valiente Zárraga Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name '' Franciscus''. Nicknames In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed " Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Comunitatis'' (father o ...

Manuel Zarauza Claver Manuel may refer to: People * Manuel (name) * Manuel (Fawlty Towers), a fictional character from the sitcom ''Fawlty Towers'' * Charlie Manuel, manager of the Philadelphia Phillies * Manuel I Komnenos, emperor of the Byzantine Empire * Manu ...

Notes

References

Bibliography

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External links

Home page of the Spanish Air and Space Force

Foro Militar General (Spanish military forum)
{{Authority control Military units and formations established in 1939 1939 establishments in Spain