Six F-18 ready to take off within fifteen minutes: Spain monitors the skies in the face of Morocco
Spain is deploying six F-18 fighter jets, a missile frigate and an air-defense unit in the south of the peninsula and in the Alboran Sea. The aircraft must be able to take off within fifteen minutes of detecting an unidentified aircraft.
Operation Eagle Eye 26-03 began on Monday, September 21, and is scheduled to continue until Friday, September 25. It simultaneously involves the Spanish Air and Space Force, army and navy in the area facing the northern coast of Morocco.
Six F-18s from Squadron 15, usually based in Saragosse, have been deployed to Malaga Air Base. They are carrying out a QRA rapid-alert mission, according to the Spanish Defence Staff.
The arrangement is intended to enable the fighter jets to take off within fifteen minutes of detecting an unidentified aerial trace. Their mission is to strengthen surveillance and train crews for air-policing operations.
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Three air-surveillance squadrons are taking part in the operation from Constantina, near Seville, Motril and Alcalá de los Gazules, in the province of Cadiz. Their information is centralized by the Central Command and Control Group installed at Torrejón, near Madrid.
An air-defense unit has also been positioned around the air base and port of Malaga. It complements the coverage provided by the fighter jets and radar stations.
A frigate equipped with radars and missiles
In the Alboran Sea, the Spanish navy is deploying the frigate Méndez Núñez. This F-100-class vessel is to integrate its detection and air-defense capabilities into the system deployed on land and in the air.
The frigate has radars capable of tracking targets at long range and missiles intended to neutralize aerial threats. It also possesses anti-submarine warfare capabilities.
The objective of Eagle Eye is to connect all these assets to a single air-defense system. The information gathered by the ground-based radars, aircraft and frigate is intended to enable the command center to monitor the area and coordinate any potential interception.
The deployment comes a few days after live firings of air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles conducted by Spain in the Gulf of Cadiz. The chief of staff of the Spanish army has also just inspected the military units and facilities in Melilla.
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Madrid presents Eagle Eye as a regular operation of “presence, surveillance and deterrence.” The Defence Staff says it is intended to protect Spanish territory, its “sovereign borders,” its territorial waters and its airspace. It does not mention Morocco and makes no connection with the current diplomatic tensions.
Nevertheless, the Alboran Sea separates Andalusia from the Moroccan Rif and constitutes one of the main areas of maritime and aerial contact between the two countries. For five days, six F-18s on alert, a frigate and an integrated air-defense system will therefore directly monitor Spain’s southern approaches.
