The Spanish special operations vehicles VLOE Netón of the MOE in Bulgaria

We recently saw the deployment of Spanish special operations military units in Bulgaria.

Steadfast Dart 25, a joint training between special forces from Spain and Bulgaria
A large deployment of Spanish special operations units in Bulgaria

This deployment is carried out within the framework of the NATO Special Operations Component, currently led by the Joint Special Operations Command (MCOE) of Spain, on the occasion of the Steadfast Dart 25 exercise, the largest maneuvers scheduled by NATO for this year.

Although official sources have not disclosed which Spanish special operations units have been deployed in Bulgaria, the images of the exercise released so far allow us to distinguish operators and vehicles from two in particular: the Special Operations Command (MOE) of the Army (and specifically the Special Operations Group 'Tercio del Ampurdán' IV) and the Special Naval Warfare Force (FGNE) of the Navy. Last Friday, the Defense Staff (EMAD) published a video of this exercise, in which we see practices of aerial infiltration, precision shooting, evacuation of wounded and training in an urban environment:

One thing that stands out about this video is that in it we can see several EINSA Netón Mk2 light special operations vehicles (VLOE) belonging to the MOE, a model also used by the FGNE (olive green for the MOE and sand-colored for the FGNE).

In addition to the EINSA Netón, a vehicle manufactured in Spain, the video also shows the Toyota Land Cruiser 79 of the 68th Special Forces Brigade of Bulgaria, whose soldiers trained jointly with the MOE operators in this exercise.

The VLOE Netón were received by the MOE in December 2021, with a batch of 24 units. The Army then reported that these vehicles are equipped with "complete standard equipment and numerous additional accessories to adapt it to any type of tactical scenario and/or situation."

The Netón VLOE is built on the chassis of the Toyota Hilux, a very robust and widely used pick-up truck on the market. It follows the philosophy of light vehicles of this type used by other countries: a 4x4 all-terrain vehicle with a simple structure without doors, with the ability to mount weapons and with the ease of finding spare parts anywhere where the MOE has to carry out a deployment.

The Netón has a TARA of 2,422 kg, a load capacity of 1,078 kg, and a consumption of 11.4 liters over a distance of 435 km at 80 km/h, with a range of 1,226 km. In the photo above, published by EMAD, we can see operators of the MOE and the aforementioned Bulgarian brigade in one of these vehicles.

Here we can see an enlargement of the left side of the photo, which shows the rear of the vehicle. In it we see a ratchet jack (in red and black, to raise the vehicle in case a wheel needs to be changed), a spare wheel, a radio antenna and several boxes of ammunition.

In this enlargement of the central part of the photo we see the hatch with a Heckler & Koch MG-5A2 light machine gun, caliber 7.62 x 51 mm NATO, a model acquired by the MOE last year. In the absence of a hard roof, the vehicle has a canvas to offer some protection from the elements.

Finally, at the front of the vehicle we see a cable cutter located on the windshield (to avoid ambushes with cables that can harm the gunner carrying the machine gun), a pickaxe, a 12V DC outlet and a Winch winch at the front.

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Photos: Estado Mayor de la Defensa / SHAPE NATO.