The large Spanish military presence at the United States 250th anniversary events
This Saturday, July 4, the United States celebrated the 250th anniversary of the proclamation of its Declaration of Independence in 1776. US military celebrate their country’s 250th anniversary with a flag-raising in Rota, Spain Photos of the Spanish frigate ‘Blas de Lezo’ in Norfolk, the world’s largest naval base Spain played a very important role […]
Spanish ships and aircraft participated in Fleet Week in New YorkThis Saturday, July 4, the United States celebrated the 250th anniversary of the proclamation of its Declaration of Independence in 1776. US military celebrate their country's 250th anniversary with a flag-raising in Rota, SpainPhotos of the Spanish frigate 'Blas de Lezo' in Norfolk, the world's largest naval baseSpain played a very important role in supporting the United States in its War of Independence, with a figure as prominent as Bernardo de Gálvez, whose help to the newly born country was recognized a few years ago with the title of honorary citizen of the United States, a recognition that very few foreigners have achieved in that country. Recalling Spain's role in the founding of the United States,the Spanish Armed Forces had a significant presence yesterday at this 250th anniversary celebration. That presence was felt both in the air and at sea. The most significant representation was naval. The Spanish Navy reported yesterday thatmore than 2,500 sailors represented Spain at Fleet Week in New York. Let us remember thatthe Expeditionary Combat Group "Despliegue Atlántico 26"" has been deployed in the United States for weeks, with the amphibious aircraft carrier"Juan Carlos I" L-61, the amphibious assault ship"Castilla" L-52, the frigate"Blas de Lezo" F-103, the frigate"Reina Sofía" F-84and the combat supply ship"Patiño" A-14, in addition to 700 soldiers and 75 vehicles from the Marine Corps (TEAR) and aircraft from the Spanish Navy and Army. On July 2, the U. S. Army released these two photos taken that same day, showingsoldiers from the New York National Guard firing salutes from Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn to the Spanish frigate "Reina Sofía"as it passed through the city to participate in the anniversary events. The cannon used to fire the salutes is an M-102 105mm howitzer, a 1964 model. On July 2, WarshipCam posted this image of the frigate "Reina Sofía" in New York, a capture from theportnywebcam. comwebcam. In the background, we see the enormous World Trade Center building, 541 meters tall, which was built on the site of the Twin Towers, destroyed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. On July 2, WarshipCam also published this image of the ship "Castilla" L-52with Manhattan Island in the background, another capture taken fromportnywebcam. com. Late in the afternoon of July 2,WarshipCamposted this image of the Spanish aircraft carrier "Juan Carlos I" L-61 in New York. As with the other Spanish Navy units we just saw in the previous images,these ships arrived in New York to participate in an international naval parade organized on July 4, with ships from more than 40 nations. This naval parade featured the participation of military sailing ships from several countries, including the "Juan Sebastián de Elcano", the training ship of the Spanish Navy, launched on March 5, 1927 and currently one of the best ambassadors of Spain. La bahía de Nueva York recibe al Buque Escuela Juan Sebastián de Elcano en@FleetWeekNYC, una travesía que une tradición, vocación de servicio y el orgullo de representar a España. ⚓🇪🇸🗽#SomosLaArmadahttps://t. co/YYPHEBuwadpic. twitter. com/j2a40ykuTg— Armada (@Armada_esp)July 4, 2026Yesterday, during its live broadcast of this naval parade,NBC News showed some fabulous footage of the "Juan Sebastián de Elcano" sailing through New York. You can see it in this video starting at 1:33:57 (it's embedded so it begins playing at that point). One of the commentators noted that the ship is "very large" and is already 99 years old. You can see some screenshots from this video here. The images of the "Juan Sebastián de Elcano" in New York are truly beautifuland will surely bring back fond memories for members and veterans of the Spanish Navy who have visited that city aboard this historic ship. The Spanish representation at these events also included aircraft, both from the Spanish Navy's Air Force Fleet (FLOAN) and the Air Force. Four Spanish EAV-8B+ Harrier II fighter jets from the 9th Squadron of the Navy flew over New York yesterday. We can see them in the following video (at 0:26 we can see the aircraft carrier "Juan Carlos I" participating in the naval parade to starboard, and at 0:54 we see the Statue of Liberty to port), which was published bySPMARFOR HQ:Happy 250th Independence Day, United States of America!SPMARFOR acting as Commander Task Force Atlantic wishes to@USNavy🇺🇸 a Happy 250 anniversary!#WeAreNATO#StrongerTogether@USNavy@USMC@JFCNorfolk@NATO_MARCOM@US2ndFleetpic. twitter. com/o28LA7o5R5— SPMARFOR HQ (@spmarfor)July 4, 2026The Spanish Air Force was represented by five aircraftthat flew over New York City during the naval parade. The largest of these wasan Airbus A330 MRTT multirole aircraft from Wing 45. The Spanish Air Force's representation in this parade was completed byfour fighter jets: two EF-18Ms from Wing 15 and two Eurofighters from Wing 11. This video was recorded from one of the Eurofighters as it flew over New York City:¡Aviadores!Os invitamos a disfrutar de este momento único del Ejército del Aire y del Espacio sobrevolando la ciudad de Nueva York. Que lo disfrutéis. 🫡pic. twitter. com/Mjtt9zfw4q— Ejército del Aire y del Espacio (@EjercitoAire)July 4, 2026---Main image:Embajada de España en los Estados Unidos.