The European Union will display its military arm for the first time next fall. It will be in Spain, coinciding with the rotating European presidency. Some 1,600 soldiers from around 18 countries will be deployed through the waters of the Gulf of Cádiz and through the Sierra del Retín maneuver field in an unprecedented military exercise that will include naval, land and aerospace units.
On March 21, 2022, when the first month of the Russian invasion of Ukraine had not yet passed, the European Council approved the so-called Strategic Compass for Security and Defense. That sort of roadmap for military hardware for the next decade contained the creation of the Rapid Deployment Force, with up to 5,000 soldiers, to deal with the European Union's need 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 expected community times. That year, the Military Capacity for Planning and Execution – framed in 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 Lieutenant Colonel Gonzalo Méndez de Pando, assigned to the Force Development Division of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, explained to La Vanguardia, carrying out the Milex-23 exercise will be “a historic milestone” within the framework of the objectives of the Strategic Compass . Spain will provide the Force Headquarters, which within the EU's operational structure corresponds to an operational level headquarters. It will have as striking particularity that it will be embarked and from it 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 with a view to interoperability in communications between the command structures of the EU and those of the member states, is that its conduction - at a strategic and operational level - is will be carried out using the current EU command and control system. To achieve this objective, he explains, an EU information and telecommunications system will be installed on board the Spanish command ship.
In addition to the Force Headquarters, according to military sources, Spain will contribute most of the force in the naval domain; made up of two amphibious warfare ships, a frigate, a landing party of Marine infantry and embarked naval aviation). In the land domain, Spain will provide a tactical group, and in the air, combat, transport and reconnaissance planes. In total, according to the same sources, around 1,200 Spanish soldiers will be directly involved in the exercise. In addition, as the host nation it will also provide a training area.
Milex-23 will take place 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 scenario will be the Gulf of Cádiz and a field of maneuvers in the south of the Andalusian province that has an area of around 54 square kilometers. This 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, which allows the continuation of the operation through the deployment of land forces, supported by air resources.
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 regarding the financing of common costs. This amount is charged to the financial mechanism of the European Peace Support Fund.
