Robles visits NATO's Combined Air Operations Centre at the Torrejón Air Base

Drones, along with advances in their production capabilities, have transformed the air defence ecosystem.

Their size and flight characteristics, added to the asymmetry in their generation cost compared to traditional defence systems, make them an "enemy" that focuses a good part of the efforts and training, not only of the pilots deployed, for example, on the Eastern Flank, for their neutralisation, but also of all CAOC personnel. A place where staff work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to monitor and defend the airspace within a radius that encompasses some fifteen countries.

"This centre is a clear demonstration of Spain's commitment to NATO", said the Minister for Defence, Margarita Robles, who emphasised the constant training and updating of our Armed Forces personnel, "whether here or in the field, such as in the 'Eastern Sentry' operation, to ensure the security of our airspace in the face of new threats and challenges".

Challenges such as agility in decision-making and the reduction of response times, essential to be able to face these new threats derived from these new actors, called drones.

Robles expressed her gratitude for the work carried out at the CAOC, the positive synergies arising from the internationalisation of the workforce, and the ongoing collaboration to ensure our safety and that of our surroundings, at a very difficult time, characterised by volatility and the constant development of increasingly modern systems and technologies, which require daily updating and learning to keep up to speed, "just as our Armed Forces do within the framework of NATO, the EU or the UN".

Non official translation