Sirio-Dragón-Tormenta 26: Spanish Air Force Launches Its Largest Exercise of 2026
Spain’s Air and Space Force (Ejército del Aire y del Espacio) is conducting Sirio-Dragón-Tormenta 26 (SDT26), its largest training exercise of the year, from 19 to 30 October 2026. The Spanish Ministry of Defence said on its official X account on 23 October that the drill is testing the service’s combat, combat support and command-and-control capabilities across several bases and airfields.
- Exercise: Sirio-Dragón-Tormenta 26 (SDT26), 19–30 October 2026
- Organiser: Spain’s Air and Space Force, with planning led by the Air Combat Command (MACOM)
- Format: command post exercise combined with live (LIVEX) unit training
- Participants: all five fighter wings – Ala 11, 12, 14, 15 and 46 – plus transport, tanker, rescue and special operations units
- Support: a NATO AWACS aircraft; Guardia Civil and Royal Guard security elements
All fighter wings in a single scenario
According to the Air and Space Force and Spanish defence media, SDT26 brings together every fighter wing in the service: Ala 11, Ala 12, Ala 14, Ala 15 and Ala 46, which fly Eurofighter Typhoon and EF-18 Hornet aircraft. Air transport and air-to-air refuelling units from Ala 31, Ala 35 and Ala 45 are also taking part, alongside search-and-rescue and special operations elements from Ala 48, Ala 49 and the EZAPAC parachute squadron.
Further combat and combat-support units include Ala 23, the air deployment support squadrons EADA and SEADA, the security group GRUSEG, the aeromedical unit UMAER and air deployment support units (UMAAD) from Madrid and Zaragoza. A NATO AWACS early-warning aircraft adds a multinational element.
Command and control from Torrejón
Operations are directed by Spain’s Joint Force Air Component (ESP JFAC) at Torrejón Air Base, supported by the GRUCEMAC and GRUNOMAC air control centres. Elements of the ESP JFAC have been deployed to Pollensa Military Aerodrome in Mallorca, which serves as a forward operating base.
The ESP JFAC has a permanent core drawn from the Air Combat Command headquarters and is reinforced with additional personnel when operations require it.
Objectives of the exercise
The service says the exercise is designed to train and evaluate combat, combat-support and command-and-control units, preparing them to plan and execute air operations from several deployment points and to maintain readiness to stand up air operational structures quickly. Search-and-rescue and special capabilities are also being exercised within a complex fictional scenario.
The Guardia Civil’s Navarra command is securing access near a firing range used in the drill, while the Royal Guard’s Plus Ultra squadron is reinforcing the security of equipment and facilities.
Context
SDT26 follows a busy autumn for Spain’s armed forces, which have also been running the Atlas 26 counter-drone exercise in Huelva. Spanish officials have not published the number of aircraft or personnel taking part in SDT26.
Featured image: Gerard van der Schaaf / CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
