MAR-26 Exercise concludes off the Gulf of Cadiz, the Alboran Sea and the Strait of Gibraltar

The Exercise took place from January 26^th to February 6^th.

Last Friday, Exercise MAR-26 concluded, a benchmark exercise in the training cycle for the warships of the 41^st Escort Squadron and the 31^st Surface Squadron of the Spanish Navy.

In waters of the Gulf of Cadiz, the Strait of Gibraltar, and the Alboran Sea, the F-80 frigates ‘Santa María’, ‘Numancia’, ‘Navarra’ and the F-100 ‘Álvaro de Bazán’ and ‘Cristóbal Colón’ conducted exercises of progressive difficulty, led by the Commander of the 41^st Escort Squadron. The schedule of activities focused on the planning and execution of operations in a coastal environment.

In addition to advanced training against conventional and asymmetric threats, the frigates carried out multiple exercises that significantly increased their readiness in defense against unmanned vehicles (Counter Unmanned Vehicles, C-UXV), and in the use of disruptive techniques, present in different theaters of operations today.

Collaborations

Among the collaborating elements that played a significant role as trainers were a maritime patrol aircraft from the Portuguese Air Force, an SH60B helicopter from the Armada Aircraft Flotilla, an MH60R from the 79^th Helicopter Squadron of the U.S. Navy, a surface drone from the Center for Experimentation and Unmanned Vehicles (CEVENTA), the Strait Surveillance Stations (EVIEST) of Ceuta and Tarifa, and the RACTA-4 of the Spanish Army.

As a complement to Exercise MAR-26, on February 3^rd and 4^th, the frigates of the 41^st Squadron conducted joint naval drills with the French ‘Charles de Gaulle’ Combat Group, with surface warfare and air defense exercises.

For its part, the Marine Corps’ Protection Force carried out its ATENEA exercise on board the frigates with three Operational Security Teams (EOS) from the Canary Islands Security Unit, the Levante Tercio and the Northern Tercio, which, integrated with the ships’ crews, participated in maritime interdiction and force protection exercises.