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Spain Air Force
The air force (Ejercito del Aire), with a personnel
strength
of 33,000 as of 1987, of whom about 18,000 were
conscripts, was
organized into four operational commands--combat,
tactical,
transport, and Canary Islands. The Combat Air Command
(Mando
Aereo de Combate--MACOM) had, as its mission, control over
national airspace through the use of offensive and
defensive
interceptor operations. As of 1987, MACOM consisted of
seven
squadrons equipped with F-18 Hornets, F-4 Phantoms, Mirage
F-1s,
and Mirage IIIs (see
table 18, Appendix).
The F-18s, introducted in 1986, were among the world's
most
up-to-date multipurpose fighter aircraft, with advanced
navigational and target acquisition systems. Associated
weaponry
included Sparrow and Sidewinder antiaircraft missiles,
HARM
antiradar missiles, and Harpoon antiship missiles. The
F-18s
would permit replacement of the F-4 Phantoms,
high-performance
fighters of the 1960s generation. The version of Mirage
III in
the Spanish inventory, first introduced in 1964, was
designed as
a long-range fighter-bomber intruder. A more recent Mirage
model,
the F-1, was purchased in the 1974-75 period by the air
force.
The Mirage IIIs were scheduled to have new electronic
attack and
navigation systems installed, so that they could be kept
in
service through the 1990s.
The Tactical Air Command (Mando Aereo Tactico--MATAC)
had, as
its mission, the support of ground forces. It was equipped
with
ten squadrons of SF-5 aircraft, one squadron of six Orion
P-3A
maritime reconnaissance aircraft, and one squadron of
DO-27 type
liaison aircraft. The SF-5s, modeled after the
Northrop-designed
American F-5, were assembled in Spain in three versions:
attack-fighters, reconnaissance aircraft, and two-seat
trainers.
Modifications being carried out in 1987, involving
installation
of new communications, a plane identification system, and
updated
navigation and landing aids, were intended to keep the
SF-5
operational until a replacement was available in the late
1990s.
This was expected to be either one designed and
manufactured in
Spain or a more advanced model available through Spain's
participation in the European fighter program
(see Defense Production
, this ch.).
The Air Transport Command (Mando Aereo de
Transporte--MATRA)
provided airlift capacity for the three services, as well
as air
evacuation, disaster relief, and paratroop carriers. The
command
possessed sixty aircraft, and it could conduct heavy
logistical
operations, using five C-130 Hercules transports and six
KC-130s
(for aerial refueling). The Spanish-built CASA C-212
Aviocar was
the mainstay of the light transport fleet.
The Canary Islands Air Command (Mando Aereo de
Canarias--MACAN) was a mixed unit equipped to carry out
multiple
missions--interceptor, ground attack, transport,
surveillance,
and antisubmarine--at a distance of 1,500 kilometers from
the
mainland. Its air fleet included a squadron of Mirage F-1s
armed
for both interceptor and ground attack operations, a unit
of ten
CASA C-212 Aviocar light transports, and a squadron
equipped for
antisubmarine warfare with Fokker F-27 patrol aircraft and
Aerospatiale AS-332B Super Puma helicopters.
The modernization efforts of the air force centered on
the
acquisition of seventy-two F-18s, produced by McDonnell
Douglas
in the United States. The first such planes--known as the
EF-18A
in Spain--arrived in 1986, and the final deliveries were
scheduled for 1990. The cost of this program, which
amounted to
US$1.8 billion for the aircraft alone, was to be offset in
full
by expenditures in Spain. These were to include support
and
overhaul for CF-18s of the Canadian Air Force in Europe
and for
F-18s of the United States Sixth Fleet in the
Mediterranean.
The principal MACOM bases were at Zaragoza, at Torrejon
near
Madrid, at Albacete, and at Manises near Valencia. The
initial
F-18 deliveries were assigned to two operational MACOM
squadrons
based at Zaragoza. Subsequent deliveries would replace the
F-4s
of two squadrons at Torrejon and two Mirage III squadrons
at
Manises. The SF-5s of MATAC were based at Moron de la
Frontera
(Moron), and the Orions P-3As were at Jerez de la Frontera
near
Cadiz.
Data as of December 1988
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