Spain 2026

Ramstein Flag South

Spain 2026

In June 2026, a group of 11 4Aviation photographers headed for Spain to witness the activities for Ramstein Flag South at Albacete. Although not all expectations were met, the group enjoyed the stay in Spain that yielded a number of interesting shots of Spanish aircraft and helicopters.

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14 June 2026

Delays again

As an exception to the rule, the 4Aviation group of eleven people planning to travel to Spain for Ramstein Flag South consisted entirely of Dutch nationals. Consequently, they all gathered at Eindhoven Airport on Sunday 14 June 2026.

As is often the case these days, our flight was delayed. By the time we finally took off, it was already doubtful whether we would make it to the car rental office in Valencia on time (before it closed for the evening). Fortunately, by running, we managed to reach the office just in time to pick up the two cars for our stay in Spain.

It was only a short drive to the nearby hotel, where we wrapped up the day with a late night beer.

15 June 2026

Tame Ramstein Flag

The first visit to Albacete was planned for Monday 15 June. From others, we had already heard that the Ramstein Flag sortie wouldn’t depart until roughly 3PM. Furthermore, with only Hellenic Air Force F-16s and Italian Air Force Tornado’s present for the exercise, we weren’t in a real rush to get to the air base. We still had to cover the distance from Valencia to Albacete in the morning.

Before the wave started, we were treated to an F-5M arriving, a test flight from another F-5, a Falcon 50, a couple of PC-21s and a departing EF-18M. The Ramstein Flag sortie indeed started late, so their recovery was even later (by the time, the sun was in a very unfavourable position).

After the final aircraft had returned, we headed for our hotel for the next couple of nights. After an unsuccessful attempt to park the van inside the underground parking garage of the hotel, we were settled in.

16 June 2026

No kids during dinner

During breakfast (on Tuesday 16 June) we noticed a guy in a flight suit in our hotel. It appeared to be our host during our visit to Talavera la Real back in September 2025. He was there, with a colleague, to pick up an F-5 after maintenance. We asked them to keep it low on take-off (and so they did!) and wished them well.

Today we started our stay at Albacete near the Airbus Helicopters facility. We were able to capture a couple of NH90s outside (and in the air) and a very nice SAR Cougar. We chose to capture the take-off of the Ramstein Flag sortie from this position as well. This gave us quite a good result. After take-off we repositioned ourselves to the approach again for the recovery. The sortie consisted of four HAF F-16s, four AMI Tornado’s, two Moron EF 2000s and six EF 2000 from Albacete.

In the evening, we had reserved a table at a restaurant for the whole group. The restaurant-owner suggested to sit outside, since inside there would be a lot of children that evening. He was right… the place was completely packed with children that evening. We were very happy with our outside table, and the food was great. So were the drinks and the atmosphere!

17 June 2026

Airbus choppers

On this Wednesday, 17 June, we would visit Albacete once more. But not after enjoying breakfast in the hotel. It was a buffet style breakfast, but still limited. The ‘chef’ informed us on the first day how many of each we could have. That was a first 😉. We started at the Airbus facilities again and were treated to a test-flight by the SAR Cougar with its distinctive large orange parts. With all the towing going on around these facilities, we could also capture a Spanish Navy NH90.

The Ramstein Flag sortie was comparable to the two previous days and was flown at around the same time.

The evening meal was enjoyed at the same restaurant as the night before. Sitting outside again, since the weather had been great all the time (though a bit too hot).

18 June 2026

Plenty of Pilati

On Thursday (18 June) we checked out from the hotel, after collecting a take-away breakfast. We headed for San Javier and its PC-21s.

The place offers very nice spots for photography (although we didn’t bring stepladders). The local PC-21s were very very active, and the presence of six French PC-21s made it even better.

Around 1PM we decided to leave and head for Valencia (2.5 hours away) via a couple of preserved C-101s. After handing in the cars and having checked in, only the flight back to Eindhoven remained. We had a bit of time to reflect. All on the group had anticipated more participants for Ramstein Flag and concluded that the sortie should have been flown earlier in the day (for better light). Still, the stay in Spain was worthwhile. We had a great time in great weather and good atmosphere, still got a fair number of decent shots at Albacete and San Javier was a nice icing on the cake.

Spain 2026

Spain 2026

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Delays again

Tame Ramstein Flag

No kids during dinner

Airbus choppers

Plenty of Pilati

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Spain 2026

Spain 2026

Spain 2026

Delays again

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