A deployment of US MH-60R helicopters on the Spanish ship 'Juan Carlos I'

Although relations between Spain and the United States are not at their best, collaboration between their armed forces continues.

The US Navy shows its intention to remain at the Spanish naval station of Rota
MH-60R Seahawk: this is the new multi-mission helicopter that the Spanish Navy will receive

Last Saturday, the official @NAVSTA_Rota account, which serves as a communication channel for U.S. forces stationed at Naval Base Rota in Spain, reported: "Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 79 conducted a bilateral training event with the Armada's 10th Helicopter Squadron and the Juan Carlos I-class aircraft carrier landing helicopter dock SPS Juan Carlos I (L 61) on March 18 to increase interoperability and capability." The account's message included four photos of the exercise, which took place in the waters of the Bay of Cádiz.

That same day, the US Armed Forces' multimedia portal DVIDShub.net published a series of photos of that exercise, noting that the training took place within the framework of the Spanish Navy's Pilot Exchange Program, "increasing interoperability, logistics and mission lethality among partner nations."

The HSM-79 "Griffins" is a U.S. Navy helicopter unit based in Rota, Spain. The squadron was created on June 2, 2016, and its radio call sign is "Sentinel." Its missions are anti-surface warfare (SUW) and anti-submarine warfare (ASW), for which it is equipped with Sikorsky MH-60R Seahawk helicopters. These aircraft operate from the flight decks of the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers that the U.S. Navy has deployed in Rota as part of NATO's missile defense shield.

Coincidentally, the MH-60R Seahawk is the helicopter model that the 10th Squadron expects to receive to replace its aging SH-60B Seahawks. The first six helicopters of this type, all of the initial variant, arrived in Spain on December 22, 1988. In October 2002, the 10th Squadron received another six SH-60Bs of the SH60B Block I variant, proceeding to modernize the initial six SH-60Bs to the Block I Core B variant. The arrival of the first Spanish MH-60Rs from a batch of eight is expected in October 2026.

In the images released by the US, we see an MH-60R from HSM-79 "Griffins" on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier "Juan Carlos" L-61 (it is the one closest to the stern of the ship). In front of it, we can see an SH-60F Seahawk from the 10th Squadron (a model operated until recently by the 5th Squadron, disbanded in January).

The "Griffins" and the 10th Squadron were not alone in this exercise. In the photos (click on the images to enlarge them) we can clearly see that on one side of the aircraft carrier island there was a Eurocopter AS-532 Cougar transport helicopter from the Spanish Army's Airmobile Forces (FAMET) and, further towards the bow, two Eurocopter EC-665 Tiger attack helicopters, the latter operated by the FAMET's 1st Attack Helicopter Battalion (BHELA I).

Here we see the Spanish SH-60F that participated in this exercise. Spain purchased eight SH-60Fs from the United States to replace its SH-3D Sea Kings, which were retired from service in June 2022. The first SH-60Fs arrived in Spain in 2017; these were second-hand units that had previously been operated by the U.S. Navy. These helicopters are used for tactical transport and special operations infiltration missions.

In these last photos we see the naval aviators of HSM-79 "Griffins" with their Spanish colleagues from the 10th Squadron. The first one, above, was taken on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier "Juan Carlos I". The last three appear to have been taken at the HSM-79 base in Rota. On the right arm of one of the American aviators we see a patch of the III Detachment of HSM-79, assigned to the guided-missile destroyer USS Bulkeley (DDG-84), which is based in Rota (it is one of the ships of the aforementioned missile defense shield).

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Photos: U.S. Navy photo / Mass Communication Specialist Petty Officer 2nd Class Jonathan P. Nye.