Of all the Spanish military missions abroad, surely the one that is reflected in the best quality photos is that of Latvia.
This is not only due to the means deployed in that Baltic republic (tanks, infantry fighting vehicles (IVC) and self-propelled howitzers that Spain has not deployed in other missions), but also to the Good photographers from NATO's eFP Battle Group Latvia (mainly Spanish and Canadians, if I'm not mistaken), who post their photos almost daily on its Facebook page, but also because of the excellent photographers that the Latvian Army has, who post their photos week after week on its official Flickr account.
One of those excellent Latvian photographers is Gatis Indrēvics, a member of the ComCam (Combat Camera) team of the Latvian Army and whose photos you can also see at his personal Instagram account. The photos that you can see below are a selection from an extensive album published by the Army Latvian on the exercise Crystal Arrow 2023, developed by the eFP Battle Group Latvia at Camp Adazi, Latvia, since March 20 and which concludes this Friday the 31st, with the participation of Spanish soldiers of the XII "Guadarrama" Brigade.
A Spanish Army M-113 VCZ sapper vehicle faced with a powerful explosion, surely detonated by the sappers themselves to clear the path of possible land mines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
A Spanish Leopard 2E main battle tank in this exercise. The nickname of the vehicle is painted in white letters: "Wet Raccoon".
A Spanish ASCOD Pizarro infantry fighting vehicle. The red flag on the turret, together with the smoke grenade launchers, is the signal used in NATO maneuvers to warn that a vehicle is about to open fire.
A Spanish soldier at Camp Adazi. He carries a Heckler & Koch G-36E assault rifle, the standard for the Spanish Armed Forces, equipped with a 40 mm Heckler & Koch AG-36 grenade launcher. Both this soldier and his partner wear yellow ribbons on their helmets to indicate his side in the exercise. Spanish soldiers have also worn yellow armbands on their right arm during these maneuvers.
A Spanish ST-5 High Mobility Tactical Vehicle (VAMTAC). It wears the white camouflage nets for snowy environments that Spanish military vehicles are using this winter in Latvia. This vehicle is equipped with a Spike LR anti-tank missile launcher, capable of destroying a target at a maximum distance of 4,000 meters.
A Spanish Leopard 2E and ASCOD Pizarro moving through Camp Adazi. In the background you can see a cable with a pole, surely these vehicles were moving through an area previously cleared and marked by the sappers.
Another image of the Spanish M-113 VCZ. This vehicle is equipped with a pusher blade and a winch on the front.
Another Spanish Leopard 2E. This one has its nickname painted in black letters: "Phoenix". As a curiosity, the circular guard that carries the drive wheel was placed on the Spanish Leopardo 2E deployed in Latvia, surely to give the chain better security on the snowy and muddy terrain in the area.
Another Spanish ASCOD Pizarro, wearing a large National Flag. In this case, the VCI carries a green flag, the signal used in maneuvers to warn that the vehicle is not ready to open fire.
Another Spanish Pizarro, this one with the main gun covered in a holster. This vehicle bears his nickname painted in black letters: "Bucephalus", the name of Alexander the Great's horse. The yellow cross next to the nickname is to indicate the side during this exercise.
Another shot of the Leopard 2E "Wet Raccoon", this time speeding across the sandy terrain of Camp Adazi.
One of the Spanish Pizarros at Camp Adazi. In this case we see the yellow cross indicating his side on the right side of the vehicle.
A Slovak Army BVP-2 infantry fighting vehicle firing its 30mm main cannon. The BVP-2 is the Czechoslovakian version of the Soviet BMP-2.
An Italian Army C1 Ariete main battle tank advancing through a wooded area of Camp Adazi.
One of the Polish Army's PT-91 Twardy tanks at Adazi. The PT-91 is the modernized Polish version of the Soviet T-72.
Impressive photo of a Polish PT-91 firing its 125mm gun. Although they do not have much protection, these tanks have high mobility and considerable firepower.
The "Crystal Arrow 2023" exercise on the news on Latvian public TV channel. The video features several sequences with Spanish vehicles.
A Spanish Pizarro in a capture of the Latvian Television video. In this case we see the red flag that warns that he is ready to shoot. In this case the vehicle bears the nickname "Sombragrís", the Spanish name of Shadowfax, the horse used by the wizard Gandalf in "The Lord of the Rings". It seems that the crews of the Pizarros like the names of famous horses.
A Spanish Leopard 2E opening fire, in another capture from the Latvian Television video. On its turret it carries the red flag that warns of its firing action.
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