A Spanish Navy training exercise in Ivory Coast with FN Minimi machine guns

In recent days we have had the opportunity to see some images of the special operations exercise Flintlock 2026 in Africa.

African special forces in a simulated assault on the Spanish ship 'Furor' P-46
Spanish soldiers from GOE IV during the Flintlock special operations exercise in Africa

This exercise, organized by the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), involved hundreds of military personnel from 30 countries, including Spain. As we saw on April 19, the Spanish Navy's maritime action vessel "Furor" P-46 participated in this event, hosting a ship assault exercise by special operations units from various African countries.

On Thursday, the US Army released a series of photos of Spanish Navy personnel training in Ivory Coast coinciding with that international exercise.

In these photos we see members of the General Corps of the Navy who make up the crew of the "Furor" and Marines from the Operational Security Team (EOS) embarked on that ship.

From what we can see in the photos, these are members of the EOS PC1N of the Canary Islands Security Unit (USCAN), which is part of the Navy Protection Force (FUPRO). If we look at the image at the top of this post, one of the soldiers is wearing the PC1N patch on the back of his helmet.

This training aimed to equip Navy personnel with the skills to use FN Minimi machine guns, a type of light machine gun used by the Spanish Marines. Manufactured in Belgium, the Minimis used by the Spanish Marines come in two versions: 5.56 x 45 mm NATO caliber and 7.62 x 51 mm NATO caliber. They are fed by belts of 100 or 200 rounds.

The 5.56 mm version (Minimi 5.56 PARA) has an effective range of approximately 800 meters, with a rate of fire of between 700 and 1,000 rounds per minute. The 7.62 mm version (Minimi 7.62 TR SLIDING BUTT) has an effective range of 1,000 meters, with a rate of fire of between 680 and 800 rounds per minute.

The machine guns we see in these photos are FN Minimi 5.56 PARA of two variants: Mk1 (below) and Mk3 (above). Both are fed from a polymer box containing an M27 belt with 200 rounds, with M855 lead-core, steel-tipped, copper-jacketed bullets and M856 tracer rounds, interleaved (i.e., 100 M855 and 100 M856 on the same belt).

In the Mk1 and Mk3 models shown in the photos, the optics are Trijicon ACOG 3.5x35 scopes with a red Chevron reticle, specifically designed for use on 5.56 x 45 NATO caliber weapons. The optics are mounted on a Picatinny rail.

In the released images, the US Army stated the following: "Spanish special operations forces provided mentorship to service members to enhance warfighting capabilities, building experience that standardizes weapons proficiency and strengthens the force." It should be noted that the photos only show EOS personnel and the ship's crew. The EOS are not strictly special operations units, although they have a high level of training.

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Photos: U.S. Army.