The Government renames the Air Force to also cover aerospace defense

The Air Force is now called the "Air and Space Army".

The Government renames the Air Force to also cover aerospace defense

The Air Force is now called the "Air and Space Army". This is how the Government decided this Monday at the Council of Ministers held a few hours before the NATO Summit that will take place in Madrid.

The Ministry of Defense, an organization headed by Margarita Robles, explains that the growing importance of outer space in the aerospace field determines that the Armed Forces must be able to "monitor space", in order to guarantee "their security and freedom of action for the national interest." Military sources consulted by ABC have insisted that this new name be "especially" linked to the Air Force.

"As the most visible and representative part of this effort to adapt to the new domain of space and in tune with the tasks already assumed for surveillance and control of outer space and the capabilities incorporated, it has been considered necessary to proceed with a formal change of the name", justify.

Likewise, the organization clarifies that the decision is made in line with the initiatives that other allied air forces in our environment are taking.

The approval of this new nomenclature, which had been debated in the Ministry of Defense for more than two years, requires the "progressive development and empowerment" of space systems. Therefore, this will mean an increase in spending for this department. However, Spain currently occupies the penultimate position in NATO in defense investment, according to the percentage of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The official statistics of the Atlantic Alliance estimate that by 2022 1.01% will be invested (compared to 1.04% in 2021).

The Air Force is not the only institution that has changed its name. Since March 22, the Spanish Navy has been renamed the Navy with the aim of "renewing its corporate image", as sources from the Navy confirmed to ABC.

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