The deployment of military helicopters of the Spanish Army in Ceuta for an exercise

@DefAviation ES 2·04·2024 · 20:54 0

This week, residents of the Spanish city of Ceuta, in North Africa, will have noticed more helicopter noise than usual.

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Between February 1 and 3, helicopters from the Maneuver Helicopter Battalion VI (BHELMA VI) of the Army Air Forces (FAMET), based in Los Rodeos (Tenerife), flew to Ceuta for an exercise with soldiers of the Tercio "Duque de Alba" 2nd of the Legion and the Ceuta Regular Group No. 54, both based in that autonomous Spanish city.

The BHELMA VI has Agusta-Bell AB-212 helicopters (it is the last Army unit that maintains a variant of the famous Huey operational) and Aerospatiale AS-332 Super Puma. These latest helicopters, with capacity for 20 soldiers, participated in this exercise.

As reported by the Army, this exercise has included the training of participating soldiers in signaling, embarkation and disembarkation operations, as well as helicarrier actions.

The exercise carried out this week is part of the Annual Preparation Program of the COMGECEU (General Command of Ceuta), which is currently part of the Canary Islands Command (MACAN) of the Army.

Ceuta is a Spanish city with a large military presence. The city was Portuguese between 1415 and 1580, the year in which Portugal joined the Hispanic Monarchy. In 1640, after the separation from Portugal, Ceuta decided to remain under Spanish sovereignty, a sovereignty recognized by Portugal in 1668. Today, the Kingdom of Morocco insists on claiming both Ceuta and Melilla, Spanish cities that They have never been part of that kingdom. This explains, to a large extent, the extensive military presence in the two cities.

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Photos: Ejército de Tierra.