Spain

U.S. to add 2 destroyer ships in southern Spain

cde.news desk 10 May 2023, 15:20 · 2 min read

An MV-22B Osprey assigned to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 266 (Reinforced), 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), lands aboard the USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) during the 26th MEU's wash down in Naval Station Rota, Spain, Oct. 19, 2013. The 26th MEU is a Marine Air-Ground Task Force forward-deployed to the U.S. 6th Fleet area of responsibility aboard the Kearsarge Amphibious Ready Group serving as a sea-based, expeditionary crisis response force capable of conducting amphibious operations across the full range of military operations. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Christopher Q. Stone, 26th MEU Combat Camera/Released)

MADRID (Reuters) – The United States will increase its destroyers based in southern Spain to six from four under an agreement to strengthen their bilateral strategic relationship, the countries said on Monday.

The agreement follows the commitment last June by U.S. President Joe Biden and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez at a meeting held on the margins of the NATO Summit in Madrid.

The U.S. destroyers based at the Rota naval base in Cadiz are the only ones with a permanent home port in Europe. The ships are positioned to make daily operations in various missions, including ballistic missile defence and anti-aircraft warfare, the U.S. embassy said in a statement.

The destroyers will be deployed without modifying the missions, types of forces or maximum force levels of U.S. civilian and military personnel authorised under the Defence Cooperation Agreement, the Spanish Defence Ministry said.

Sanchez is due to travel to Washington to meet with Biden on Friday.

The agenda includes their strong mutual support for Ukraine against Russia, interest in deepening cooperation in Latin America and the Caribbean, and Spain taking over the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union from July to December.

Photo: An MV-22B Osprey in Naval Station Rota, Spain. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Christopher Q. Stone, 26th MEU Combat Camera/Released)