Spain Launches Atlas 26 Counter-Drone Exercise in Huelva With Armed Forces and Police

Spain’s armed forces and state security forces began Atlas 26 on 19 October, a joint counter-drone exercise at the Médano del Loro training and firing range in Huelva, the Spanish Defence Staff (EMAD) said on its official X account on 19 October 2026. The drill tests joint tactics, techniques and procedures against unmanned aircraft and runs until 23 October, according to Spanish media reports.

A single command for military and police units

According to EMAD, the exercise brings the armed forces and the state security forces together to rehearse a common response to drone threats. Units from the Army, Navy and Air and Space Force operate alongside the Guardia Civil and the National Police under a single command.

The Spanish Army describes the aim as responding effectively to a multi-layered aerial threat, with particular attention to small and medium drones in NATO’s Class I and II categories.

Home defence and NATO deployment scenarios

Spanish reports say Atlas 26 covers two scenarios: permanent presence, surveillance and deterrence operations on national territory, and a deployment within a NATO Integrated Air and Missile Defence (IAMD) structure.

Command, control and interoperability are planned over a 5G link into the Air and Space Force’s air defence system. Responses include soft kill through electronic warfare and hard kill with guided and unguided munitions.

Aracne system moves to hard-kill testing

According to the Spanish daily El Español, the 71st Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment received its first units of the Aracne counter-drone system about two weeks before the exercise. Aracne was developed by Indra and Escribano Mechanical & Engineering (EM&E): Indra supplies the command and control system, radars and radio-frequency sensors, while EM&E provides the Oteos electro-optical sensor and Guardian 2.0 remote weapon stations.

The regiment has already completed the operational evaluation of the soft-kill component, and hard-kill testing is the next phase during these manoeuvres, the outlet reported. The Army has not said how many systems were delivered.

Building on Atlas 25

The previous edition, Atlas 25, was held at the same range in October 2025 and drew on lessons from Spanish Army deployments on NATO’s eastern flank. Atlas 26 again serves as a platform for cooperation with national companies, universities and armed forces test centres, while observers from universities and the Army Training and Doctrine Command (MADOC) will collect lessons learned.

Featured image: A Spanish Army NASAMS battery commander briefs allied aircrew at Lielvārde Air Base, Latvia (February 2026). U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Dean Johnson / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons