An American Air Force Boeing E3 Sentry entered Spanish airspace via Coruña on Sunday afternoon. It crossed the Peninsula and, in the Mediterranean, a few kilometers from the Italian city of Alghero in Sardinia, it circled halfway in the sky before heading back to Spain. Silently, it flew over Menorca, Mallorca, and Ibiza before heading towards Alicante and continuing its journey. It landed at the Rota Naval Base after a 14-hour flight from Oklahoma. The agreements of the Morón and Rota bases signed between the governments of Spain and the United States have allowed these Spanish bases to operate at their maximum capacity these days coinciding with the US attack on Iran. At a time of disagreement between the two countries over increased defense spending, Washington finds its key ally in Spain.
The aircraft that landed in Rota has a radar antenna mounted on the fuselage. It is less spectacular than a fighter jet, but its presence is crucial in military operations. It provides support, control, and communications, as well as intelligence tasks, while events unfold in the air. For the United States, in the midst of the offensive against Iran, it is essential to bring this Boeing closer to the Middle East. Just as it was to position 14 refueling aircraft in extra flight at the Morón base between June 15 and 20 so that their fighters could successfully carry out the Midnight Hammer operation.
On the day Sánchez sent his letter to Rutte to explain why Spain stood at 2% of defense investment, a spokesperson for Donald Trump stated that Spain should aim for 5%. Last Saturday, the US President himself stated that "NATO will have to deal with Spain. Spain is a very low contributor, it always has been. Either they were very good negotiators... or they were not doing the right thing. They have to pay the same as the rest, they have historically been known for paying little." But everything changed on Sunday afternoon, hours after the operation against Iran and with Mark Rutte's letter accepting Pedro Sánchez's arguments, although clarifying that "NATO is absolutely convinced that Spain will have to spend 3.5% collectively, so now each country will report periodically on what they are doing in terms of spending and meeting the objectives. And in any case, there will be a review in 2029."
Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, the Government has been balancing to present itself as a "reliable partner" of NATO but unable to increase defense spending to the organization's standards. The Executive committed to reaching 2% of investment in the matter by 2029. It had a plan, it claimed, from which it would not deviate. However, the arrival of Donald Trump to power along with the request to Europe to achieve its strategic autonomy increased pressure on Spain.
Pedro Sánchez was forced last April to present a sort of rearmament plan of 10.471 billion euros to reach 2% of defense spending. An estimate that they have already agreed will be 2.1%. "Spain, in particular, will require a 2.1% expenditure, according to the estimates of our Armed Forces, an investment that will be sufficient to acquire and maintain all the personnel, equipment, and infrastructure requested by the Alliance." Words contradicted by Rutte, who claims that to achieve those goals they need to reach 3.5%.
This is the key and the main argument of Spain: the capability targets, that is, the capacity objectives. These are a series of materials (weapons) that NATO proposes to each country through the Defense Planning Process, where they identify what is needed, present it to the countries for them to acquire. Each State, in its bilateral negotiations with the Organization, decides what it accepts and it is reflected in a document classified as confidential. It includes weapons to be able to defend the territory. Spain needs to strengthen anti-aircraft defense, acquire ballistic missiles or Patriot batteries... The problem is that practically none of the needs in the Industrial and Technological Defense plan presented by Sánchez correspond to the capabilities target agreed with NATO. The president now arrives at the summit with the reassurance of not having to accept the 5%, but the challenge of meeting the capabilities.
Spain is one of the countries with the most deployed military personnel on the Eastern flank. It participates in missions in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, and Slovakia, where it also leads a Battle Group. In addition, it monitors waters in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean for the Organization. A presence on the border with Russia that is appreciated and valued by the Allies. NATO sources, in fact, acknowledged to this newspaper that "until Trump's arrival, that deployment served to not insist so much on the 2%." And now the operation against Iran could have been another subterfuge to listen to Sánchez's arguments and appease Trump's insistence.
In 1998, the Agreement between Spain and the United States on Defense Cooperation was signed. It authorized the use of the Zaragoza Air Base - which closed in 1992 -, the Morón base, and the Rota naval base. According to the treaty, Morón can accommodate 463 military personnel and be used for "the necessary support facilities for operations, administration, maintenance, communications, supply, and material storage, and support services for a temporary detachment of tanker aircraft, a permanent or rotating detachment of tanker aircraft, and deployment and transit of aircraft." According to sources consulted, there are 10 tanker aircraft permanently deployed in Morón.
"Furthermore - the agreement continues - the necessary support facilities in Morón for the naval radio transmitting station that expands the capacity of the Rota naval communications station and the US Sixth Fleet." In Rota, on the other hand, the presence of 5,250 military personnel is authorized. Until 2023, there were four American destroyers at the Base; however, in that year, it was expanded to six. The first of the expansion arrived at the end of 2024, and the second will arrive in 2026. These ships are essential for NATO's missile defense shield and US interests, from that enclave they control the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. Last week, the US Air Force positioned 14 more refueling aircraft in Spain. All actions to show the country as the "reliable partner" of NATO that they insist on.
Because the argument that a common percentage of investment is not the place from which to question the commitment to NATO is also held by the defense industry, which doubts the need to reach the proposed spending by the United States. At a breakfast organized by Infodefensa, Francisco Javier Sánchez Segura, president of Airbus, stated last Friday that "if countries rush into a compulsive purchase to reach 5%, the risk is that we continue to buy from abroad and deepen the dependence that Europe already has. The number is only relevant if it has an industrial plan developed jointly with the industry." Ricardo Domínguez, president of Navantia, stated that "it is not about a percentage, but about meeting what is required of us."
Another challenge that Spain faces to meet this year's rearmament plan is to pass NATO's review criteria. Many of the cybersecurity, firefighting... items may not be approved by the organization. In addition, contracts have not yet been published to start spending those 10.471 billion this 2025. Because that money was necessary to reach 2%. "It is June, and we have to commit to these items before December to then maintain spending over time." The lack of budgets in Congress is another problem to ensure that sustained 2% over time. That is the figure that, according to Sánchez and the analysts of the Armed Forces, would be sufficient to cover the capabilities committed by Spain. "The challenge is to achieve that the 2% is maintained," insists the source. General Alberto Asarta, a Vox deputy, reminded the Congress plenary that it is necessary to "ensure that 33 billion euros will be reserved from the budgets for Defense every year."
Currently, while the Government is figuring out how to implement the rearmament plan, other allocations are being made through the Council of Ministers. Both the Defense industry and the military regret the approval of these allocations. "Since it's not included in the budget, it's money to be spent in the year it's approved, and often it's impossible to carry it out without requesting further authorizations to continue using it," they explain. In the latest Council of Ministers meeting, an Agreement was approved to modify the limits for incurring expenses in future years, "so that the Ministry of Defense can have the necessary credits to start contracting processes and adjust the annual installments of ongoing contracts," they explained. A total of 1.4 billion was allocated across three categories: 263 for the Directorate General of Armament and Material, 943 for infrastructure programs, and 216 for the Military Emergency Unit. On June 10, the same approach was taken to ensure investment in the Special Modernization Programs (SMP) until 2037: "Twelve new programs are planned to start, with a total budget of 15.635 billion euros to be distributed between 2026 and 2037, and will also receive pre-financing from the Ministry of Industry and Tourism totaling 6.327 billion euros." Weekly patches to ensure national defense and strive to meet NATO requirements as a "reliable partner."