The Spanish government has authorised the renewal of Spain’s main overseas military missions for 2016, including the two Patriot surface-to-air missile (SAM) batteries helping guard NATO ally Turkey’s southern border with Syria.
This particular renewal had been in doubt after the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in Madrid admitted it had been surprised by the announcement earlier this year by the United States and Germany that they were withdrawing their batteries.
The MoD said then that it would be discussing its own situation with other NATO allies, only for the cabinet to agree to the yearlong extension at its last meeting before the 20 December general election.
Other missions approved included a fresh commitment of four C.16 Eurofighter Typhoons and their support personnel to NATO’s Baltic Air Policing Mission from January-May 2016.
