The European Union will display its military arm for the first time next autumn. It will be in Spain, coinciding with the rotating European presidency. About 1,600 military personnel from 18 countries will be deployed in the waters of the Gulf of Cadiz and on the maneuvering field of the Sierra del Retín in an unprecedented military exercise that will have naval, land and aerospace units.
On March 21, 2022, when Russia had invaded Ukraine less than a month ago, the European Council approved the so-called Strategic Compass for Security and Defense. That kind of road map in military material for the next decade contained the creation of the Rapid Deployment Force, with up to 5,000 soldiers, to face the need of the European Union to respond to imminent threats. In the spotlight: the threat of the Kremlin and hybrid wars.
The new European military force should reach its full operational capacity in 2025, according to the planned community times. That year, the Military Planning and Execution Capacity – part of the General Staff of the European Union – will assume command of the troops that until then will be in the hands of national units.
As explained to La Vanguardia by lieutenant colonel Gonzalo Méndez de Pando, assigned to the development division of the Joint General Staff Force, the implementation of the Milex-23 exercise will be “a historic milestone” within the framework of the objectives of the Strategic Compass. Spain will contribute the headquarters of the Force, which within the operational structure of the EU corresponds to an operational level headquarters. It will have as a striking particularity that it will be embarked and from there all the forces participating in the maneuvers will be directed and coordinated.
The lieutenant colonel assures that one of the most outstanding aspects of the exercise in terms of interoperability in communications between the command structures of the EU and those of the member states, is that the conduct of the exercise – on a strategic and operational scale – will be carried out using the current EU command and control system. To achieve this goal, he explains, an EU information and telecommunications system will be installed on board the Spanish command ship.
In addition to the headquarters of the Force, according to military sources, Spain will provide most of the services in the naval domain; composed of two amphibious warships, a frigate, a Marine infantry landing group and embarked naval aviation. In the land domain, Spain will provide a tactical group, and in the air, combat, transport and reconnaissance aircraft. In total, according to the same sources, around 1,200 Spanish military personnel will be directly involved in the exercise. In addition, as the host nation, it will also provide a training area.
Milex-23 will be developed in two phases: the first without the deployment of forces and in which the command posts will participate from their permanent locations, and a second that will have the deployment of forces. The stage will be the Gulf of Cadiz and a maneuver field in the south of the Andalusian province that has an area of ??about 54 square kilometers. This field has a beach area suitable for carrying out an amphibious landing.
The exercise will be set in a stabilization scenario in a coastal area, which requires an amphibious entry force to control a seaport, allowing the continuation of the operation and completing it through the deployment of ground forces, also with the support of air means.
To finance the costs of Milex-23, the Council of the European Union has agreed to establish a financial reference amount of 5 million euros, without prejudice to future decisions relating to the financing of common costs. This amount is charged to the financial mechanism of the European Peace Support Fund.
