More than 3,000 soldiers, 150 vehicles and 70 aircraft flew over and paraded through the centre of Granada on Saturday in celebration of Armed Forces Day, attended by Kings Felipe VI and Queen Letizia. The king had previously attended a prologue on Friday where he reviewed ships and Marine Infantry of the Navy on the beaches of Motril.
The Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles , the Chief of the Defense Staff (JEMAD), Admiral Teodoro Esteban López Calderón; the heads of the Armies of Land, Air and Space and the Navy, the president of the Junta de Andalucía, Juanma Moreno and the acting mayor of Granada, Francisco Cuenca all attended Saturday’s ceremony.
For the first time, coinciding with the 35th anniversary of women in the Armed Forces, a woman carried the flag that arrived from the air, carried a corporal of the Parachute Acrobatic Patrol of the Air and Space Army (PAPEA) Carmen Gómez Hurtado.
Almost 40 aircraft took part in the fly past, comprising of nine Eurofighters and nine F-18s. It was led by members of the Patrulla Águila (Eagle Patrol) from Santiago de la Ribera.
Armed Forces Day dates to 1978 when the national festival was established to pay homage to the Army, Navy and Airforce.
