Spain launches extensive air-defence drills in the south amid Morocco tensions
Spain is conducting the Global Eye 26 exercise, deploying six F-18 fighters to Málaga and a frigate in the Alborán Sea as relations with Morocco worsen after a Ceuta border assault.
Throughout the week, Spain’s military is testing the southern peninsula’s air-defence system in the Global Eye 26 exercise, coordinated by the State Defence Staff. The operation includes the Army, Navy and the Air and Space Force, with six F-18 Hornets from Ala 15 relocating from Zaragoza to Málaga to stand ready for early-warning missions that must launch within fifteen minutes of any unidentified radar contact. Air-space monitoring will be handled by the Central Command and Control Group at Torrejón, integrating data from ground, naval radars and the EVA squadrons based in Constantina, Motril and Alcalá de los Gazules.
An Army anti-aircraft unit will be positioned near Málaga’s air base and port, and the frigate F-104 Méndez Núñez will patrol the Alborán Sea as part of the national defence grid. The drills occur against a backdrop of renewed strain with Morocco after the massive incursion on Ceuta’s frontier in late July, which authorities attribute to Moroccan security forces. This marks the second consecutive week of intensive Spanish military activity around the Strait.
Why it matters
It shows Spain’s readiness to protect its airspace amid escalating Spain-Morocco tensions.
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