Spanish And Portuguese Frigates Hold First Joint Training Exercise

The two largest countries on the Iberian peninsula have teamed up to assess the performance of their frigates side by side for the first time.

During the last two weeks the Portuguese Navy’s Vasco da Gama-class frigate NRP Álvares Cabral has been conducting a joint exercise with Spanish Álvaro de Bazán-class frigate ESPS Méndez Nuñez and Santa Maria-class frigate ESPS Navarra.

The manoeuvres at the Centro de Valoración y Apoyo a la Calificación Operativa para el Combate (CEVACO), a Naval Training and Evaluation centre in Rota, Spain, have formed part of the Portuguese ship’s qualification, under its own Training and Evaluation Department (DTA).

The activities undertaken have included firing, self-defence and force defence exercises, as well as boarding operations, tactical navigation, damage limitation, and medical emergency and refuelling drills.

As per a Portuguese Navy press statement, the exercises have “allowed it to strengthen cooperation and interoperability between allied navies, strengthen the readiness of the units involved, and train tactics, techniques, and procedures within the scope of naval operations.

“The participation of the Portuguese Navy in international training, such as CEVACO, allows the Navy to increase response capabilities and demonstrates Portugal's commitment to maritime security and collective defence.”

And a social media post by the Armada (Spanish Navy) added: “The first operational qualification carried out with @MarinhaPT ended this week, being one more example of the strengthening of ties between allied navies and leaving us with images to remember.”

• You can read more details on the Portuguese Navy website