The Spanish Army parades in Talsi on the 35th anniversary of Latvia's independence

After decades of Soviet military occupation, the Republic of Latvia regained its independence on May 4, 1990.

The fire and steel reception prepared by the Latvian Army for a Russian invasion
The recovery tasks of a Spanish Leopardo 2E main battle tank in Latvia

Every May 4th, Latvia holds a military parade in a different city to celebrate the regaining of its independence. This year's parade, marking the 35th anniversary, took place in Talsi, a town of about 8,600 inhabitants in the northwest of the country.

As in previous years, the parade was attended by the NATO multinational military contingent deployed in Latvia, as part of an Enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) mission launched by NATO in 2017 (Latvia has been a member of the Atlantic Alliance since 2014) and motivated by the growing threat of Russian imperialism. Spain has been participating in this contingent since its creation with an armored vehicle unit. The current Spanish rotation belongs mostly to the "Guzmán el Bueno" X Brigade, based in Córdoba.

Above you can see the live broadcast of the parade by Latvian Television (the video is in Latvian; you can activate the automatic subtitles in Spanish in the bottom bar of the player). This year's parade was smaller than in previous years and did not include heavy vehicles, probably because the location chosen for the parade was not suitable for tanks and infantry fighting vehicles. The Latvian Army and the NATO Multinational Brigade in Latvia have published the photos of the parade that you can see in this article (you can see them enlarged by clicking on each image).

A Spanish artilleryman marching alongside soldiers from other countries belonging to the NATO Multinational Brigade in Latvia.

Another photo of NATO soldiers on parade. Among them we can see four Spanish soldiers, three men and one woman.

The flags of NATO countries that participated in this parade in Latvia. From left to right we see the flags of Albania, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Italy, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Spain and, finally, a pennant of a United States military unit.

A formation of Latvian Army soldiers. In the background on the right, we see the multinational contingent. The Spanish flag is next to the United States flag.

A formation of NATO soldiers. Among them, six Spaniards can be distinguished, three of them wearing khaki berets from the Artillery Weapon (probably from the NASAMS Anti-Aircraft Defense Unit deployed in Latvia) and the other three wearing the black berets of the Brigade "Guzmán el Bueno" X.

A Spanish corporal from the Brigade "Guzmán el Bueno" accompanying the flag of the NATO Multinational Brigade in Latvia during the parade.

This time, the only Spanish military vehicle in this parade was a Uro VAMTAC ST-5. In previous years, Spain participated with Leopardo 2E tanks and ASCOD Pizarro infantry fighting vehicles.

FV107 Scimitar armored reconnaissance vehicles of the Latvian Army. This is a British model that currently has Latvia as its largest operator, with 123 units purchased from the United Kingdom in 2014.

A row of Latvian Army Polaris MRZR light rapid vehicles. Latvia has 62 Polaris vehicles of the MRZR-2, MRZR-4, and MV850 models, purchased from the US in 2018 for the Land Forces and National Guard.

One of the Latvian Air Force's Antonov An-2 transport aircraft. With limited aircraft resources, the Latvian military aviation still has three of this type, a 1947 Soviet model of which more than 18,000 were manufactured.

Two Romanian Air Force F-16AM fighters at the air parade. Since March 31, four Romanian F-16s are currently deployed in Šiauliai, Lithuania, in Romania's first participation in NATO's Baltic Air Policing mission.

A UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter of the Latvian Air Force. The Baltic state has purchased four of these helicopters, three of which have already been delivered, to replace six Soviet-made helicopters donated by Latvia to Ukraine following the Russian invasion: two Mi-8s, two Mi-17s, and two Mi-2s. In 2026 and 2027, Latvia expects the arrival of four MD 530F Cayuse Warrior light helicopters, which will contribute to enhancing the capabilities of its Air Force.

---

Photos: NATO Multinational Brigade Latvia / Latvijas Armija.