The King presided over this Wednesday in Madrid the traditional parade for the Day of the National Holiday, the largest military parade since before the pandemic with the participation of more than 4,000 troops, 150 vehicles and 84 aircraft.
Kings Felipe and Letizia together with the Infanta Sofía were in the Plaza de Lima to officially start the act. Princess Leonor, who is studying at a school in Wales, was absent again just like last year.
Along with the King and Queen, members of the Government were in the parade, including the ministers of United We Can, and the whistles and boos of a part of those attending the Chief Executive, Pedro Sánchez, are now traditional.
All the regional presidents also participated except those of Catalonia and the Basque Country, Pere Aragonés and Iñigo Urkullu, who, as usual, did not travel to Madrid to participate in the events on October 12.
However, the most representative absence was that of Carlos Lesmes, who this Sunday announced his resignation as president of the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) due to the lack of political agreement for his renewal.
The acts began with the arrival of the Kings at 11.00 in the morning. Felipe VI reviewed the troops, after which he greeted the authorities. Afterwards, the traditional parachute jump with the Spanish flag took place, followed by the raising of the flag and an act of homage to those who fell for Spain.
Air and land parades followed by Units of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Civil Guard, Military Emergency Unit, Royal Guard, State Security Forces and Bodies and various Security, Civil Protection and Emergency agencies.
In the air parade one of the stars was the Patrulla Águila, the acrobatic patrol of the Air and Space Army. On this occasion, the patrol took extreme precautions to avoid failures in the colors of the smoke with which the Spanish flag paints the sky.
But in addition, for the first time they flew with a co-processed fuel that is cleaner, according to sources from the Spanish Air Force. It is the result of a collaboration between Repsol, TIS, Airbus and the Air Force so that by 2050 all aircraft fuels are clean.
More than 4,000 soldiers, 150 vehicles and about 220 horses take part in the land parade. In this case, the applause is distributed among the Armies, the Military Emergency Unit or the security forces, all of them also accompanied by their already famous mascots, such as the Legion's goat.
The parade takes place shortly after the Government has approved the General State Budget project for next year, which included a significant increase in military investment, of 25.8 percent. The largest increase is intended for weapons programs to continue paying for those already committed, as well as renewing those that are becoming obsolete.
