Floating giants: two Spanish Navy warships arrive on Costa del Sol to take part in spectacular amphibious landing exercise
A city beach will be the setting for the simulated hostage release involving marines, planes, helicopters and fast boats on Tuesday morning
Two floating giants can currently be seen in the Bay of Malaga. They are the Juan Carlos I and the Galicia, both Spanish Navy ships. They have headed to the capital of the Costa del Sol for a practical exercise scheduled for Tuesday. Marines, planes, helicopters, fast boats and landing craft will perform a simulated hostage rescue operation.
Residents who would like to witness the amphibious training exercise only need to get close to city's La Malagueta beach at around 11am.
Units participating in the display have just completed their deployment in Atlantic and Mediterranean waters as part of the expeditionary battle group Daedalus 25.
During exercises, the expeditionary battle group conducted joint activities with the Army and Air Force as well as with Portugal, France, Slovakia, Croatia, Romania and Italy. It was also integrated into Atlantic Alliance activities to contribute to deterrence and collective defence for two days.
According to information on the Navy's website, the Juan Carlos I is the largest warship ever built in Spain. It is 231 metres long and 32 metres wide.
The Galicia is also an amphibious warship. This allows it "to deploy the marine corps' expeditionary force to a conflict zone or an area affected by any kind of natural disaster". The vessel is 160 metres long and 23 metres wide.
