The Ceuta Artillery contributes to the training of NATO pilots.

The Anti-aircraft Artillery Group from the 30th Mixed Artillery Regiment in Ceuta played the part of the enemy in an exercise from NATO’s Tactical Leadership Programme course, carried out from the 8th to the 14th of June in Murcia province.

They formed an Anti-aircraft Artillery Defence Unit – made up of one Battery of Skydor 35/90 weapons and a Mistral squad from the II/30 Group, plus a Nasams Battery from the 73rd Anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment and the necessary transmission facilities from the Anti-aircraft Artillery Command’s Transmissions Unit – which was deployed in the vicinity of La Almudema, Murcia.

Its mission was to defend a crucial point, which the NATO planes were trying to destroy. The NATO force was made up of F-18, F-16, C-101, Eurofighter, AWACS and fighter-bomber F 35A planes. These were supplied by the Spanish Air Force as well as other countries such as the USA, Greece, Italy and Poland.

The exercise was an excellent opportunity for the Ceuta gunners to put into practice their combat tactics and procedures with non organic units, whilst also increasing the anti-aircraft defence capacity of the Anti-aircraft Artillery Defence Unit.

The exercises from the Tactical Leadership Programme (TLP), which are piloted from the ‘Los Llanos’ airbase in Albacete, allow combat pilots from all NATO countries to plan and carry out complex attacks and develop their leadership abilities.

The exercise was carried out in La Almudema (Murcia).