King Felipe VI and Letizia travel this Saturday to Vigo to lead the main event of the Armed Forces Day, a large military parade in which 3,700 personnel, 70 aircraft, more than a hundred vehicles, and 32 motorcycles will take part.
Alongside the monarchs will be the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles; the Chief of the Defense Staff (JEMAD), Admiral General Teodoro Esteban López Calderón; the Chiefs of Staff of the Army, General Amador Enseñat y Berea; of the Air and Space Force, General Francisco Braco Carbó; and of the Navy, Admiral General Antonio Piñeiro. Other commanders from the military leadership, the mayor of Vigo, Abel Caballero, and various civilian authorities will also attend.
As a novelty, Princess Leonor will attend for the first time, who is completing the third of the three years of her military training at the General Air Academy in San Javier (Murcia), after her time at the General Military Academy of the Army in Zaragoza and the Naval Military School of Marín (Pontevedra).
In this way, she joins another of the major institutional events she will assume in the future as Captain General of the Armed Forces. In recent years, she has already been present at the October 12th parade and the Military Easter.
The parade route will cover 1.1 kilometers of Samil Avenue and will start at 12:00 PM with the arrival of their majesties at the royal stand. After the customary honors, Felipe VI will receive updates from the commander of the Honor Battalion, will review the troops, and, subsequently, the monarchs will greet the invited authorities.
Immediately after, one of the most symbolic and spectacular moments will take place: the paratrooper jump in front of the royal stand with the Spanish flag. In this edition, the responsibility falls to Second Lieutenant Alberto Vidal, as guide, and Sergeant First Class Pablo García Matanza, both Galicians, from Pontevedra and Lugo, respectively, in recognition of the host community.
Second Lieutenant Vidal has been part of the Air and Space Force Parachute Acrobatic Team (PAPEA) since 2015 and has completed 5,000 jumps. Before joining PAPEA, he was stationed at the Paratrooper Sappers Squadron (EZAPAC) and the Air Deployment Support Squadron (EADA). He holds all paratrooper qualifications and certifications and serves as an international judge in this discipline.
In 2023, on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the Military Parachuting School, he was in charge of carrying out the jump with the largest flag that has ever flown in a jump in Spain, measuring 1,350 square meters. For his career, in 2024 he was recognized as the "Distinguished Parachutist".
For his part, First Sergeant García Matanza will be the one to carry the national flag. He joined the PAPEA in 2020 and has completed over 4,000 parachute jumps.
He has been part of both the National Military Parachuting Team and the National Civil Parachuting Team, highlighting the recent medal obtained in the Absolute Team Classification at the 58th National Military Parachuting Championship, held in April 2026, and his qualification to represent Spain in the 48th World Military Parachuting Championship, which will take place in August in Slovakia.
Moving tribute to the fallen and air show
After the jump, the flag will be raised and a tribute ceremony will be held for those who gave their lives for Spain. At the end of the bugle call in memory of the fallen, the Mirlo Formation will perform a flyover, painting the colors of the national flag in the sky.
The Mirlo Formation, composed of five aircraft piloted by flight instructors stationed at the Air and Space General Academy, replaced the Águila Patrol from 2025, coinciding with the incorporation of the Pilatus PC-21 and the retirement of the veteran C-101 after four decades of service in the Air Force.
Next, the air parade will take place, during which the public will be able to see 30 fighter jets, 16 transport aircraft, as well as the aircraft from which the parachute jump is made, and 25 helicopters.
3,746 personnel – 3,402 men and 344 women – belonging to the Royal Guard, the Army, the Air and Space Force, the Navy, the Civil Guard, and the Military Emergencies Unit (UME), all in dress uniform, will participate in the ground parade.
The parade will be completed by 130 horses, six dogs, and the popular mascot of the "Gran Capitán" 1st Tercio of the Legion, the goat Baraka, as detailed by the Ministry of Defense. The motorized section will include 109 vehicles and 32 motorcycles.
To conclude the day, the King and Queen will greet the responsible military commanders and the participants in the parade, bid farewell to the stands, and the national flag will be lowered.
The Day of the Armed Forces has been commemorated uninterruptedly since 1978, when a royal decree established the celebration of an institutional act intended to pay tribute to the armies and the Navy and to reinforce their knowledge and integration into society. It takes place on the Saturday closest to May 30, around the feast of San Fernando, patron saint of military engineers.