The Spanish Navy Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD) JUAN CARLOS I approaches the Port of Naples, Italy, March 6, 2025. (NATO Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Ryan Hohman, USA Army)
The Spanish Expeditionary Task Group led by its flagship, the helicopter landing dock (LHD) JUAN CARLOS I, entered the port of Naples to pay a visit to the metropolis at the foot of Vesuvius.
The Commander of the Spanish Expeditionary Task Group, Rear Admiral Antonio Tanago, and Brigadier General Jose Maria Sanz, the Commander of the Spanish Marines Brigade, were welcomed by the Chief of Staff of Allied Joint Force Command Naples, Italian Army Lieutenant General Rodolfo Sganga, at Allied Joint Force Command Headquarters.
By providing an entire amphibious task group for the Greek portion of STDT25, and in addition sending Spanish Special Forces to Bulgaria, Spain contributed significantly to NATO’s wider deterrence and assurance measures
(Right) Chief of Staff of Allied Joint Force Command Naples, Italian Army Lieutenant General Rodolfo Sganga, at Allied Joint Force Command Headquarters presents a plaque to (left) Commander of the Spanish Expeditionary Task Group, Rear Admiral Antonio Tanago, to commemorate his visit to the Allied Joint Force Command Headquarters March 6, 2025. (NATO Photo by Adjudant-chef Cynthia VERNAT, French Air Force)
“By providing an entire amphibious task group for the Greek portion of STDT25, and in addition sending Spanish Special Forces to Bulgaria, Spain contributed significantly to NATO’s wider deterrence and assurance measures”, Lieutenant General Sganga said.
That visit follows the successful Spanish contribution to the maritime portion of the recent NATO exercise STEADFAST DART 25, NATO’s largest and most complex live-exercise in 2025, which took place in Romania, Bulgaria and Greece. It was the first time large-scale deployment of NATO’s Allied Reaction Force (ARF).
During STEADFAST DART 25, its maritime task force as part of the Allied Reaction Force (ARF) executed multiple specific types of training in the Greek territorial waters and onshore the Greek mainland.
The highlight was a complex amphibious landing in vicinity of the Greek city of Volos on 13 February, where Spanish and Greek Marines demonstrated NATO’s amphibious capabilities during a tremendous dynamic display in front of the international press.
Spanish and Greek Marines demonstrated their capabilities during a complex amphibious landing operation as part of Exercise Steadfast Dart 2025, in Volos, Greece on 13 February 2025. (NATO Photo by Adjudant-chef Cynthia VERNAT, French Air Force)
“We are able to protect the seas and international airspace, ensure freedom of navigation and commerce, and if deemed necessary, we can project naval power ashore”, Admiral Tanago said during the Steadfast Dart amphibious landing in Greece.
The capabilities of the JUAN CARLOS I and its affiliated units like the embarked Marines with their vehicles and aircrafts were key to demonstrating NATO’s strategic deployment and remote strike capabilities.