His Majesty King Felipe VI of Spain visits Spanish-led NATO MN BDE SVK on Ex Strong Lineage 2025 at TC Lešť

His Majesty King Felipe VI of Spain, accompanied by Minister of Defence Margarita Robles Fernández and Chief of the Defence Staff Admiral Teodoro López Calderón, made a two-day working trip to Slovakia on 10-11 June 2025.

President and Commander-in-Chief of the Slovak Armed Forces Peter Pellegrini and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Robert Kaliňák joined the Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of the Spanish Armed Forces and his delegation in inspecting the ranks of the Spanish-led NATO Multinational Brigade Slovakia (MN BDE SVK) during the Exercise Strong Lineage 2025 Distinguished Visitors Day (DVD) at the Training Centre Lešť on 11 June 2025.

Speaking of the Royal visit, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Robert Kaliňák said: “His Majesty King Felipe VI of Spain has come to personally inspect the progress made in the Brigade’s certification process and show his support for the Spanish troops who are part of the multinational contingent. The Training Centre Lešť has created unique conditions for comprehensive training and combined exercises in the Alliance.”

The Spanish monarch's visit coincided with the culmination of Ex Strong Lineage – led by Spain's Galicia VII Brigade (BRILAT) – a certification exercise (CERTEX) that validated the NATO MN BDE SVK's upscaling process to a full brigade-level formation through the activation of the On-Call Forces on standby in their home garrisons in several countries and their projection into Slovakia, and confirmed the Brigade's readiness to conduct operations according to Alliance standards. The NATO MN BDE SVK has successfully obtained NATO certification.

On NATO's Forward Land Forces (FLF) multinational battlegroups, Robert Kaliňák said: “The multinational battlegroups have been scaled up to brigades to act as a safeguard in the event of an escalation of the conflict, which could potentially spread to other parts of Europe. Their existence is a manifestation of Allied unity and resolve to protect our common territory.”

As His Majesty King Felipe VI toured the Training Centre Lešť, he noted his appreciation for the “universality and high quality” of the Centre, which, according to him, offers “outstanding” conditions for modern and realistic training of Allied Forces.

Spain is leading the NATO-certified MN BDE SVK in partnership with other troop-contributing Allies – the Czech Republic, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Türkiye.