Spain leads NATO's most ambitious naval exercises of the year

Spain is hosting NATO's most ambitious naval maneuvers, Dynamic Mariner/Flotex-25, which began on Monday in the Gulf of Cádiz and the southern coast of Andalusia. These operations, which will run until April 4, involve over 4,000 military personnel and 30 ships from nine countries. The exercises aim to integrate new technologies into naval operations, including unmanned systems.

This year’s exercises combine NATO's Dynamic Mariner and Spain's annual Flotex drills, with Spain playing a crucial role as the host nation. The goal is to demonstrate the Spanish Navy’s ability to command and control a naval force far from its shores in medium-to-high intensity scenarios, to project naval power and control the seas. The shift from low-intensity operations, which focused on crisis management in distant countries, to medium and high-intensity exercises, is driven by the ongoing war in Ukraine.

These naval drills are seen as preparation for potential combat scenarios, a shift that began in 2014 after Russia's annexation of Crimea. The exercises no longer focus on peacekeeping or crisis management but are intended to ready NATO forces for combat. The exercises also serve to certify Spain's Maritime Forces Headquarters (SPMARFOR) to lead NATO's Allied Reaction Force (ARF) from July 2025 to 2026. The ARF is a strategic capability designed to respond quickly to any emerging threats.

Participating countries include Germany, Croatia, the US, France, Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Turkey, deploying a range of naval assets including aircraft carriers, frigates, amphibious assault ships, submarines, drones, and more. Spain's newest submarine, the S-81 Isaac Peral, built by Navantia, will participate in its first international exercise.

The exercises will also feature real-fire drills, testing capabilities in power projection, command and control, amphibious operations, anti-submarine warfare, and cyber defense. The participants will engage in over 100 operations across multiple domains—sea, air, land, and cyberspace. Amphibious landings will also take place along the Spanish coast, including live-fire exercises in controlled environments.