Spain said it would deploy 14 fighter jets to Bulgaria and Romania as NATO continues to bolster its eastern flank in the face of Russia’s aggressive actions in the region.
The move announced by the Spanish Defense Ministry on October 22 follows remarks by Bulgarian Defense Minister Dimitar Stoyanov two days earlier that Madrid was set to deploy up to eight jets to his nation in the coming days.
Spain said six Eurofighter jets and 130 soldiers would be sent to Bulgaria between mid-November and early December to train forces there.
Stoyanov told a news conference on October 20 that the Spanish Eurofighter jets were expected to arrive in Bulgaria on November 1 and would perform airspace protection operations together with the Bulgarian Air Force through December 23.
"This is yet another mission on enhanced air policing. It will be a joint airspace security duty," Stoyanov told reporters.
Bulgaria, a NATO member since 2004, is already hosting some 1,000 alliance troops under Italian command.
In its announcement, Spain said a deployment of eight F18M fighter jets and 130 air force personnel would operate in Romania between December and March 2023 as part of NATO's "reaction and deterrence" strategy.
The Spanish statement said a long-range aerial surveillance radar has been deployed to Romania since October 17 and could remain there until late June 2023.
The country previously sent 12 fighter jets to eastern NATO members Bulgaria, Lithuania, and Estonia following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in late February.