Spanish Army

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Spanish Army (Ejército de Tierra in Spanish; literally, "Land Army") is one branch of the Spanish Armed Forces, in charge of land operations.

1 Manpower
2 Ranks
3 Units & Structure
4 Equipment
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Manpower

The army will be increased to about 86.000 troops (26.000 officers and 60.000 soldiers) by the end of 2007. Before 2001 mandatory military service was still in use. Currently, the Spanish Army is a fully professionalized force. In case of war or siege state, an additional force of 80.000 Civil Guards came under the Ministry of Defense command.

[edit] Ranks

The enlisted military ranks of the Spanish Army are as follows below, (for a comparison with other NATO ranks, see Ranks and Insignia of NATO.

NATO Code	OF-10	OF-9	OF-8	OF-7	OF-6	OF-5	OF-4	OF-3	OF-2	OF-1		OF-D-	Student Officer
Spain (Edit)												*No Equivalent*	*No Equivalent*
Spain (Edit)	Capitán general¹	General de Ejército	Teniente general	General de división	General de brigada	Coronel	Teniente coronel	Comandante	Capitán	Teniente	Alférez	*No Equivalent*	*No Equivalent*
¹ Retained by His Majesty the King of Spain as his constitutional role.

NATO Code	OR-9						OR-8		OR-7		OR-6						OR-5						OR-4		OR-3		OR-2						OR-1
Spain (Edit)
Spain (Edit)	Suboficial mayor			Subteniente			Brigada		Sargento primero		Sargento						Cabo mayor						Cabo primero		Cabo		Soldado de primera						Soldado

[edit] Units & Structure

Spanish Units are actually separated in two fighting forces, as a result of the 2005 reorganization according to the instruction no. 59/2005, of 4th April, from the Chief of the Army Staff on Army Organisation and Function Regulations
- The main fighting force, the Fuerza de Maniobra (Manoeuvre Force), FMA, comprises a mechanized division, a light division plus two independent brigades (mountain and cavalry) and support troops
  - Cuartel General de la FMA y Núcleo de Apoyo (FMA Headquarters and Support Core)
    - Brigada de Transmisiones (Communications Brigade)
    - Mando de Ingenieros (Engineer Command)
      - Regimiento de Especialidades de Ingenieros 11 (11th Engineer Regiment)
      - Regimiento de Pontoneros 12 (12th Pontoneer Regiment)
      - Regimiento de Ferrocarriles 13 (13th Railroad Sapper Regiment)
    - Mando de Operaciones Especiales (Special Operations Command)
      - Grupo de Operaciones Especiales "Valencia" III (3rd Special Operations Group)
      - Grupo de Operaciones Especiales "Tercio del Ampurdán" IV (4th Special Operations Group)
    - Fuerzas Aeromóviles del Ejército de Tierra (FAMET) (Army Airmobile Force)
    - Mando de Artillería de Campaña (Field Artillery Command)
  - Brigada de Caballería "Castillejos" II (2nd Cavalry Brigade)
    - Rgto. de Caballería Ligera Acorazada "España" 11 (11th Light Armored Cavalry Regiment)
    - Rgto. de Caballería Ligera Acorazada "Numancia" 9 (9th Light Armored Cavalry Regiment)
    - Rgto. de Caballería Acorazada "Pavia" 4 (4th Heavy Cavalry Regiment)
    - Regimiento de Artillería de Campaña 20 (20th Field Artillery Regiment)
    - Grupo Logístico 22 (22nd Logistic Battalion)
    - Unidad de Zapadores Acorazada 22 (22nd Armored Sapper Company)
    - Batallón de Cuartel General II (Second Brigade's Headquarter Group)
  - Brigada de Cazadores de Montaña "Aragón" I (1st Mountain Brigade)
    - Regimiento de Cazadores de Montaña "Galicia" 64 (64th Mountain Regiment)
    - Regimiento de Cazadores de Montaña "America" 66 (66th Mountain Regiment)
    - Grupo de Artillería de Montaña I (1st Mountain Artillery Battalion)
    - Grupo Logístico de Montaña I (1st Mountain Logistic Battalion)
    - Batallón de Cuartel General I (1st Headquarters Battalion)
    - Unidad de Zapadores de Montaña 1 (1st Mountain Sapper Company)
  - División de Infantería Mecanizada "Brunete" 1 (First Mechanized Division)
    - Núcleo de Tropas Divisionario (Divisional Troop Core)
      - Cuartel General de la División (Divisional Headquarters)
      - Rgto. de Caballería Ligera Acorazada Farnesio 12 (12th Light Armored Cavalry Regiment)
      - Regimiento de Artillería de Campaña 11 (11th Field Artillery Regiment)
      - Regimiento de Artillería Antiaérea 82 (82nd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment)
      - Regimiento de Ingenieros 1 (1st Engineer Regiment)
      - Agrupación Logística Divisionaria (Divisional Logistic Group)
    - Brigada de Infantería Mecanizada "Guzmán el Bueno" X (10th Mechanized Brigade)
      - Rgto. de Infantería Mecanizada "La Reina" 2 (2nd Mechanized Regiment)
      - Rgto. de Infantería Mecanizada "Córdoba" 10 (10th Mechanized Regiment)
      - Grupo de Artillería de Campaña Autopropulsada X (10th Self-Propelled Artillery Battalion)
      - Grupo Logístico X (10th Logistic Battalion)
      - Batallón de Cuartel General X (10th Headquarters Battalion)
      - Unidad de Zapadores 10 (10th Mechanized Sapper Company)
    - Brigada de Infantería Mecanizada "Extremadura" XI (11th Mechanized Brigade)
      - Rgto. de Infantería Mecanizada "Saboya" 6 (6th Mechanized Infantry Regiment)
      - Rgto. de Infantería Mecanizada "Castilla" 16 (16th Mechanized Infantry Regiment)
      - Grupo de Artillería de Campaña Autopropulsada XI (11th Self-Propelled Artillery Battalion)
      - Grupo Logístico XI (11th Logistic Battalion)
      - 11th Headquarters Battalion
      - Unidad de Zapadores 11 (11th Mechanized Sapper Company)
    - Brigada de Infantería Acorazada "Guadarrama" XII (12th Armored Brigade)
      - Rgto. de Infantería Mecanizada "Asturias" 31 (31st Mechanized Regiment)
      - Rgto. de Infantería Acorazada "Alcázar de Toledo" 61 (61st Armored Regiment)
      - Grupo de Artillería de Campaña Autopropulsada XII (12th Self-Propelled Artillery Battalion)
      - Grupo Logístico XII (12th Logistic Battalion)
      - Batallón de Cuartel General XII (12th Headquarter Battalion)
      - Unidad de Zapadores Acorazada 12 (12th Armored Sapper Company)
  - One light division, known as the Fuerza de Acción Rápida (Rapid Action Task Force), made up of:
    - Brigada de Infantería Ligera Aerotransportada "Galicia" VII (7th Airborne Light Infantry Brigade)
      - Rgto. de Infantería Ligera Aerotransportada "Príncipe" 3 (3rd Airborne Regiment)
      - Rgto. de Infantería Ligera Aerotransportada "Isabel la Católica"29 (29th Airborne Regiment)
      - Grupo de Artillería Aerotransportada VII (7th Airborne Artillery Battalion)
      - Grupo Logístico Aerotransportado VII (7th Airborne Logistic Battalion)
      - Batallón de Cuartel General VII (7th Headquarters Battalion)
      - Unidad de Zapadores Aerotransportada 7 (7th Airborne Sapper Company)
    - Brigada Paracaidista "Almogávares" VI (6th Parachute Light Infantry Brigade)
      - Bandera Paracaidista "Roger de Flor" I (First Parachute Battalion)
      - Bandera Paracaidista "Roger de Lauria" II (Second Parachute Battalion)
      - Bandera Paracaidista "Ortiz de Zárate" III (Third Parachute Battalion)
      - Grupo de Artillería Paracaidista VI (6th Parachute Artillery Battalion)
      - Grupo Logístico Paracaidista VI (6th Parachute Logistic Battalion)
      - Unidad de Zapadores Paracaidista 6 (6th Parachute Sapper Company)
      - Batallón de Instrucción Paracaidista (Parachute Instruction Battalion)
    - Brigada de la Legión "Rey Alfonso XIII" (Brigade of the Spanish Legion)
      - Tercio "Don Juan de Austria", tercero de la Legión (Legion's Third Tercio)
      - Tercio "Alejandro Farnesio", cuarto de la Legión (Legion's Fourth Tercio)
      - Batallón de Cuartel General de la Legión (Legion's Headquarter Battalion)
      - Grupo de Artillería (Legion's Artillery Battalion)
      - Unidad de Zapadores de la Legión (Legion's Sapper Company)
- The Fuerza Terrestre (Land Force) comprises the rest of the fighting units. It's often regarded as the national garrison, while the FMA acts as a deployable unit. The 52nd Light Infantry Regiment "Regulares", stationed in Melilla, commemorates the Moorish colonial troops who played a major role in the Spanish Civil War.

[edit] Equipment

[edit] Weapons

HK G36 - 5.56 mm assault rifle in the G36E variant (no red dot sight, 1.5x day scope)
CETME L - 5.56 mm NATO assault rifle, currently being replaced by the G36E. Its LC (short barreled) and LV (Marksman rifle) versions are still in use.
Ameli - (Acronym of AMEtralladora LIgera - Light machine gun) 5.56 mm light machine gun
MG3 - 7.62 mm NATO air-cooled medium machine gun
Browning M2 HB - 12.70 mm heavy machine gun
Instalaza C-90 CR (M3) - 90 mm disposable anti-tank grenade launcher
M-82 semiautomatic pistol - 9 mm Parabellum reglamentary service pistol
Barrett M95 - 12.7 mm heavy sniper rifle
Accuracy AW - 7.62 mm NATO sniper rifle
ECIA L65/81 mortar - 81mm medium mortar
ECIA L65/105 mortar - 105 mm medium mortar
ECIA L65/120 mortar - 120 mm heavy mortar

[edit] Combat vehicles

90 AMX 30E Main Battle Tank. To be retired
244 M60 A3TTS Main Battle Tank
108 Leopard 2A4 Main Battle Tank
219 Leopard 2E (A6) Main Battle Tank
84 VRC-105B1 Centauro light wheeled tank
476 Pizarro infantry fighting vehicle

Infantry Fighting Vehicle Pizarro from the 31st Mechanized Regiment

686 BMR-M1, a medium, six-wheeled APC used mainly in peacekeeping deployments
1213 M113A2 armored personnel carrier vehicles
340 VEC-M1 cavalry exploration vehicle
Alacran CZ25/10, combat engineer variant of the M60A1
TOM Bv206S mountain tracked vehicle
URO VAMTAC Rebeco, a light, high tactic mobility, all terrain 4x4 vehicle.

[edit] Artillery

M109 - 155/39 mm self-propelled howitzer, as the M109A5E
M110A2 - 203/40.5 mm self-propelled howitzer
L-118A1 - 105/37 mm. light field howitzer
M56 - 105/14 mm pack howitzer
Vickers H 1912 - 305/50 mm coastal artillery piece
Vickers 1923 - 152.4/50 mm coastal artillery piece
Vickers 1926 - 381/45 mm coastal artillery piece
Raytheon MIM-23 HAWK - Surface-to-Air missile system
Raytheon MIM-104 Patriot - Surface-to-Air missile system
Roland air defense system - Mobile short-range Surface-to-Air missile system
Skyguard-Aspide - Anti-aircraft missile system
MBDA SATCP Mistral missile - Anti-aircraft infrared homing missile system
Teruel MLRS - Self Propelled Multi Launch Rocket System

[edit] Helicopters

CH-47 Chinook helicopter.

18 CH-47 Chinook - Heavy transport (Spanish denomination HT-17)
29 Eurocopter Super Puma AS-332 - transport helicopter (Spanish denomination HT-21 UC)
20 Eurocopter Cougar AS-532 - transport helicopter (Spanish denomination COUGAR HT-21 UC)
40 BO-105 - attack helicopter
50 Bell UH-1H - transport helicopter. To be retired

other used helos are Bell 205, Bell 212

Planned to enter in service

24 Tigre - attack
45 NH-90 - tactical transport

See also FAMET

[edit] References

Instruction no. 59/2005, of 4th April, from the Chief of the Army Staff on Army Organisation and Function Regulations, published in B.O.D. NO. 80 of 26th April 2005