The Spanish Air and Space Force (SASF) carried out its main exercise at Gando Air Base in the Canary Islands during the last two weeks of October. This exercise, called SIRIO, test all the capabilities of the SASF, including command, control & communications, cyber warfare, combat operations, search and rescue, joint operations, special force operations etc.

A good number of aircraft were deployed to Gando from the mainland, including EF-18M Hornet from 12th and 15th Fighter Wings, Eurofighter EF2000 from 14th and 11th Fighter Wings, Airbus C-295 tactical transports from 35th Wing, NH-90 “Lobo” helicopters from 48th Wing and a A400M configured as a tanker from 31th Wing. An UAS MQ-9B Reaper from 23th Wing also took part, in this case operating from Lanzarote Military Airfield. This edition of Sirio included a rare participation from a foreign country, Portugal, which sent F-16AM fighters to take part in the exercise. The last but not least, the locally based 46th Wing also took part with their EF-18A Hornet, while their CN-235 and Super Puma carried out SAR duties.

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Ocean Sky (OS) exercise is the biggest international air combat exercise organized by the Spanish Air Force and one of the few of this kind that took place in Europe, mainly because it is entirely focused on air to air missions. OS is hold each two years at Gando Air Base in the Canary Islands. Fighters taking part in this year edition included EF-18 Hornets from 12^th, 15^th and 46^th Combat Wings, Eurofighters EF-2000 from 11^th and 14^th Combat Wings of the Spanish Air and Space Force, F-16Cs from both Hellenic Air Force and Turkish Air Force and F-16AM from the Portuguese Air Force.

Photos by Edilia Luis:

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The Tactical Leadership Programme (TLP) Flying Course 2023-4 (FC 23-4) took place during the second half of November at Albacete Air Base, Spain. The main goal of the TLP courses is the advanced training in tactical leadership and planning for fighter pilots and aerial controllers during complex composite air operations (COMAO) where a large number of fighter and support assets take part. Participants in this course included Eurofighters from Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom, Mirage 2000 from Greece, Rafale M from French Navy, EF-18 Hornet from Spain, L-159 ALCA from Czech Republic, Alpha Jet from France, and F-16C from Poland.

Photos by Edilia Luis:

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Last summer we got the chance to attend the Royal International Air Tattoo, the biggest military air show in the world with hundreds of aircraft both in the static and dynamic displays. One of the main focus of this year edition was in aerial refuelling and we got the chance to see a good number of tankers flying aerial refuelling demos, including A400M with two Tornados from the German Air Force, an A330 MRTT from the Royal Air Force with a Swedish Gripen and a Finnish Hornet and a MC-130J with a MV-22 Osprey.

This year we also saw for the first time the new E version of the Saab Gripen in flight which was one of the hihglights and a replica of the first jet fighter that entered in operational service, the Mesersmith Me-262. Another highlights were the “Dream Viper” Demo from the Belgian Air Force, the Finnish Hornet solo display, the French Rafale Solo Display and of course the Spanish Navy AV-8B Harrier, which flew with the Royal Air Force F-35B Lightning II.

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