The Spanish Navy deploys an Aero-naval Amphibious Group in the Mediterranean Sea.

The Spanish Navy is deploying the Aero-Naval Amphibious Group ‘Dédalo-23’ in the Mediterranean in the first quarter of 2023 to enhance training and demonstrate Spain’s commitment with the Allied Defense and Deterrence policy. The Group set sail on January 16th.

This deployment will serve to certify the group for its subsequent integration into NATO’s Readiness Initiative (NRI) in the year 2024 on the one hand, and to strengthen the image of our Armed Forces in the international context on the other.

The Group, under command of the Chief of the Amphibious and Fleet Projection Group, will be led by the LHD ‘Juan Carlos I’ accompanied by a frigate and a series of aircraft including fixed-wing AV-8B+ ‘Harrier’ and helicopters as well as a Marine Corps Reinforced Landing Battalion.

As the deployment progresses, other military elements will join the Group; namely, the LPDs ‘Galicia’ and ‘Castilla’, the auxiliary oiler and replenishment ship ‘Cantabria’, the submarine ‘Tramontana’ and several Army helicopters.

During the first stage, different activities will be conducted off the coasts of southern France and Italy. In the second stage, the Group will proceed towards Egypt only to return to Italian waters for the final stages of the deployment in March. During this operation, the Spanish Navy Task Group will interact with other NATO units and maritime groups, which will contribute to increase the training of the Group’s crews and Staff.

The deployment will also serve to show the Spanish Navy’s capability to command and project an expeditionary force and, if so is the case, integrate other units or groups into a Combat Strike Group of an Allied nation.

This is the third time that the Amphibious and Fleet Projection Group, along with its flagship, the ‘Juan Carlos I’, conducts a deployment of these characteristics.

In May and June 2022, a series of activities were carried out with other NATO aero-naval groups and aircraft carriers like the ‘Harry S. Truman’ from the US, ‘Cavour’ from Italy and ‘Charles de Gaulle’ from France. In September and October the Spanish Task Group took part in Exercise DYNAMIC MARINER/MAVI-BALINA 22 in Turkey where the Chief of the Amphibious and Fleet Projection Group was certified as Commander of NATO’s Amphibious Response Force.