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PANORAMA EXCLUSIVE Surprise move by Spain as Spanish military fly to RAF exercise area
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by JOE GARCIA
In a surprise move, Spanish military aircraft have flown into the Alboran training area where the RAF exercise 'Macaque attack' is taking place.
The arrival of the Spanish military wanting to use the area themselves raised eye-brows in British military circles.
The initial reaction on Wednesday, when the Spanish activity first emerged, was to wonder if the Spanish were trying to put a spanner in the works.
Flying out of Gibraltar was cancelled on Wednesday afternoon, which heightened suspicions about what was going on. But military sources assured us that the exercise was cancelled on Wednesday afternoon due to inclement weather conditions.
However, it is rather odd that two countries should be using the same training area, on different exercises, at the same time, both exercises being air exercises.It is not clear if the Spanish decided to have an exercise of their own after the British exercise became known.
It is believed that the Spanish wanted high-level flying for their exercises. The end result is that the training area has been split, as it were, with flying taking place with extra care on 'deconflict' mode.
It appears that the aim was that nobody spoilt one or the other exercise.
The official announcement of the RAF exercise late last month mentioned that Tornado and Hawk aircraft would be taking place.
Yesterday morning the departure of an Hercules C130 transport plane from Gibraltar was delayed for half-an-hour because there was Spanish military aircraft activity.
EXERCISE MACAQUE ATTACK is the first full-squadron size exercise to have taken place at RAF Gibraltar for several years.
Six Tornado GR4s of XIII Squadron, based at RAF Marham in Norfolk are conducting operational training flights supported by five Hawk aircraft from 100 Squadron normally based at RAF Leeming in Yorkshire. The Hawks are also carrying out their own operational training.
In total, over 130 RAF personnel will have travelled out from UK to take part in this two week exercise.
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