Base Aérea N.º 11 in Beja hosted between September 7 and 11 the Space EX26, the first military exercise specifically dedicated to operations in the space domain held in Portugal. The Portuguese Air Force organized and led the exercise, which brought together military personnel and specialists from six countries: Portugal, Spain, France, the Netherlands, the United States of America and the United Kingdom, also featuring NATO representation. The objectives included strengthening multinational cooperation, increasing information sharing and developing the capability to conduct joint space operations, with particular focus on interoperability of command and control systems.
During the five days, areas such as orbital surveillance, space data management, command and control, operational coordination and shared use of sensors, products, services and knowledge were worked on. The Air Force framed the initiative in an increasingly congested and competitive space environment, in which the ability to identify and track objects in orbit and to exchange information between allied countries assumes growing operational importance.
The exercise also included a component of contact with space sector companies. On September 10, the Distinguished Visitors Day took place, during which representatives from Neuraspace, led by Chiara Manfletti, GEOSAT, led by Francisco Cunha, and ICEYE Portugal, led by Rui Costa, visited the base. Also present were the 2nd Air Commander, Major-General António Moldão, and the commander of Base Aérea N.º 11, Colonel Nuno Monteiro da Silva, who accompanied the guests on a visit to the operations area.
The choice of Beja was not random, as the base has an optical telescope from Neuraspace installed under a partnership with the Portuguese Air Force, intended for tracking objects in orbit. With the holding of this first national exercise of its kind and the existence of observation capabilities already installed at BA11, Beja now adds to its traditional aerial importance a new dimension linked to the space domain and the development of military capabilities in this area.
