Last Saturday, the traditional National Day air parade in Madrid was suspended due to bad weather.
Many people missed out on seeing a much-anticipated part of this military event, as 85 aircraft (56 planes and 29 helicopters) were scheduled to take part. Most of the aircraft scheduled were from the Air Force, but the flight of four Harrier II Plus fighters and three SH-60 Seahawk helicopters from the Navy, three helicopters from the Air Service of the Civil Guard, three others from the National Police Corps, a helicopter from the General Directorate of Traffic (DGT) and a helicopter from the Tax Agency were also scheduled.
In turn, the Army's Airmobile Forces (FAMET) were going to provide eight helicopters to this parade. These helicopters were already deployed at the Cuatro Vientos Air Base on October 12, when the air parade was finally cancelled due to heavy rain. Previously, they had rehearsed their participation at the "Coronel Maté" Base in Colmenar Viejo (Madrid). V1 Aeronautics has published the video of these rehearsals today (the video is in Spanish, you can activate automatic English subtitles in the bottom bar of the player):
Below you can see some screenshots from this video, with some information about the helicopters that appear in it and their units.
A Boeing CH-47F Chinook heavy transport helicopter, the HT.17-24A (ET-424), belonging to the 5th Transport Helicopter Battalion (BHELTRA V), based in Colmenar Viejo. In the video we also see another CH-47F, the HT.17-28A (ET-428), participating in these tests. These two helicopters were going to participate in the air parade on October 12, closing the FAMET formation.
An Airbus H135 helicopter, the HE.26-22 (ET-185). It is operated by the Army Aviation Academy (ACAVIET) in Colmenar Viejo. Three H135s were to take part in the parade, leading the first wedge formation of the FAMET: two in this olive green scheme and the H135 that we can see below.
An Airbus H135 T2+, the HU.26-11 (ET-197). It is part of the Second Emergency Helicopter Battalion (BHELEME II, formerly BHELMA II), which operates its helicopters from Colmenar Viejo and Bétera (Valencia). The BHELEME II helicopters are operated by the FAMET and are operationally dependent on the Military Emergency Unit (UME), being used in support tasks for this unit, which is why it sports this striking livery.
A Eurocopter EC-665 Tigre HAD/E attack helicopter, the HA.28-24 (ET-724), belonging to the 1st Attack Helicopter Battalion (BHELA I), based in Colmenar Viejo. This helicopter belongs to the attack and destruction variant and we see it armed with two SNEB 70 mm rocket launchers (with seven rockets each) and four Spike ER anti-tank missile launchers (two on each side). In the video we also see another Tigre HAD/E, the HA.28-08 (ET-708), with the same armament configuration. Both were to occupy the outside of the first wedge formation of the FAMET in the parade.
A NHIndustries NH-90 utility transport helicopter (I can't make out its serial number). This helicopter belongs to the Third Maneuver Helicopter Battalion (BHELMA III), based in Agoncillo (La Rioja). It was to lead the second wedge of FAMET helicopters in the air parade on October 12, accompanied on both sides by CH-47Fs.
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