Rear Admiral Gonzalo Villar, head of the Armed Forces’ expeditionary combat group Dédalo 24, gets goosebumps when he remembers that a few days ago, when the Navy’s flagship made a stop in Istanbul, a waiter asked the guests to remain silent. diners to publicly thank part of the crew for their humanitarian help after the earthquake in Turkey. Although the main task of the Spanish deployment is to directly support NATO’s deterrence and defense strategy, Villar assures that he did not hesitate a little over a year ago to ask permission to completely divert the course of the expedition.
In less than 48 hours after the earthquake, the group provided ships, vehicles, helicopters, landing craft and more than a thousand soldiers to save lives. Ten days after that, the same infantrymen who were among the rubble were carrying out an amphibious landing on a beach in Albania, in the middle of Atlantic Alliance training.
The Dédalo expeditionary group, under operational control of the Operations Command, has been sailing again on Tuesdays since the beginning of the month. From Turkey to Helsinki, more than 13,000 miles according to Villar’s estimates, during three months in which he will join the most important naval maneuvers carried out by NATO in the Mediterranean and the Baltic.
From the air you can see how the aircraft carrier Juan Carlos I, the amphibious assault ship Galicia and the frigates Blas de Lezo and Reina Sofía sail in time. From inside, authentic cities that house seven of the Navy’s legendary Harrier planes and a hospital with up to two operating rooms and a state-of-the-art laboratory. A whole mechanism to “contribute to the message of deterrence to avoid risks,” explains Villar. “Let it be clear that it is not profitable to carry out any aggression against a NATO allied country,” insists the rear admiral.
According to military commanders, the first weeks of navigation have taken place under “intense surveillance activity” in the Mediterranean in support of the Alliance’s Operation Sea Guardian, which fights transnational terrorism. They have also carried out bilateral activities with the Armed Forces of Greece and Türkiye. The objective is, in addition to increasing mutual knowledge, to demonstrate the capabilities of NATO navies to plan and execute operations as complex as amphibious and air-naval, “the two main vectors of naval power projection” of Daedalus.
“It is proof of Spain’s commitment to the Alliance, to the European Union and to maritime security,” adds Villar about the expedition that is divided into different phases, which coincide with defense exercises together with allied countries such as those that have allowed carry out amphibious operations in the Peloponnese and the islands of Skyros and Crete, when a Greek frigate has remained integrated in Daedalus.
During this week it is the turn of the Neptune Strike, the greatest display of NATO naval muscle against the Russian threat, in the midst of aggression against Ukraine. The seven Harrier aircraft are flying the skies of Slovakia, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Romania, Italy, Montenegro and Albania. “The activities are a visible demonstration of the allies’ ability to cooperate and integrate effectively, proof of the strong cohesion and trust between all, as well as an opportunity to improve preparation,” summarizes the Operations Command.
“The idea of ??deterrence,” Villar details, is “to demonstrate capacity.” NATO puts four aircraft carriers to sea acting in unison – from France, Italy and Turkey, in addition to the Spanish one –, another 18 satellite ships, 48 ??aircraft – including fixed-wing planes and helicopters –, more than 4,600 soldiers from 15 countries with two marine infantry battalions. And all this with a radius of action of 2,700 kilometers. “It is a very powerful message. When deciding whether to attack someone, it is an element of judgment to take into account,” adds the commander.
In the coming days, the expedition will change direction to head to the North Sea, after stopping in Gijón. One of the milestones will take place there: a helicopter from Sweden, which has recently joined NATO, will interact for the first time with an allied ship.
