Spain's Chief of Defence Staff, Army General Fernando Alejandre Martínez, recently took time to visit the Spanish Maritime Air Detachment at their base in Djibouti.During his visit, he thanked them for their outstanding support to the European Union's counter-piracy efforts off the coast of Somalia.

A Spanish Maritime Patrol Reconnaissance Aircraft (MPRA) has been stationed in Djibouti since Operation Atalanta was launched by the European Union in December 2008.Since that time, the aircrews have flown thousands of hours, patrolling the waters of the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden to deter and disrupt acts of piracy.

The Spanish aircrew were extremely proud to brief the General on the capabilities of their P3-C Orion aircraft and to update him on their deployment so far.