Starting in April, Spain will deploy a Nasams anti-missile battery in Estonia to protect its airspace on NATO’s eastern flank.
The news was announced by the authorities of the Baltic country after the meeting held at the headquarters of the Atlantic Alliance in Brussels between the Defense Minister, Margarita Robles, and her Estonian counterpart, Hanno Pevkur, who explained that the agreement has an initial duration of four months and will temporarily reinforce air defense capabilities on the eastern flank while they work “on a more sustainable solution.” The press release from the Spanish Ministry of Defense on Robles’ activity in Brussels did not echo this agreement.
The deployment of this anti-missile battery, which implies the mobilization of some 80 troops, will not require authorization from the Congress of Deputies, according to government sources. On December 20, the Council of Ministers extended until December 31 of this year the authorization for the participation of the armed forces in operations outside of Spain. Yesterday without going any further, the National Security Council met to address the war in Ukraine.
Robles also held bilateral meetings yesterday in Brussels with his counterparts from Estonia, Canada and Romania, but the content of their conversations has not been revealed.
The day began with a meeting of the defense ministers of the 54 countries that make up the Contact Group for the Defense of Ukraine, the so-called Ramstein format. Robles announced that Ukraine will send fifty soldiers to Spain at the end of this week to receive training in the management and maintenance of the Leopard-type battle tanks that the allies are preparing to send to the country to help it defend itself against Russian aggression.
Unlike other countries, which have made public the figures for the tanks they will send to Ukraine, the Spanish minister once again evaded giving figures on how many tanks Spain will provide, alleging the need to be discreet regarding the military support provided. In any case, he clarified that the final figure will depend both on actual availability, since it is not clear how many of the Spanish inventory are operational (some of the 53 vehicles stored in Zaragoza since the 1990s are in “a lamentable state,” he recalled) and coordination with other allies.
Since the training of Leopard operators and maintenance technicians will take two to two and a half months, the first tanks are expected to arrive in Ukraine in late March or early April.
“It is not just a matter of providing these battle tanks, it is important to train the crews, maintain them, and spare parts,” insisted Robles, who recalled that they require “daily” maintenance work. Another factor that will determine the number of tanks that Spain and other countries will send is the interoperability of the different models donated by the allies (the Leopard, the British Challenger, the American Abrams…).