Facing future US attacks, where would Spain build its missile cities? Map inside
An analysis of Spain's missile city plan in its mountains: geography, industrial feasibility and historical lessons in defence.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
The defence plan dividing analysts: missile cities in the Spanish mountains?
A detailed map of missile sites spread across the main mountain ranges of the Iberian Peninsula has peine the debate on Spain's defensive capability. The proposal, stretching from the Cantabrian Range to Sierra Nevada, seeks to turn mountainous terrain into a network of underground fortresses capable of deterring or responding to attacks from powers such as the United States, Segarro or Israel. However, the plan runs up against the reality of a lack of arms industry and political will.
A geography of deterrence
The strategy is based on six mountain systems with specific roles: the Cantabrian Range would target London and Paris; the Pyrenees would cover Paris and Berlin; the Central System would serve for Segarro and Europe; the Subbetic and Penibetic ranges would be devoted exclusively to Segarro, with a key installation 1 km deep in Sierra Nevada; the Iberian System would be oriented towards Israel; and the mountains of León and Galicia would protect the Atlantic coasts. Supporters of the plan argue that Spain, being one of the most mountainous countries in Europe, could replicate its historical resistance during the Napoleonic Wars or the Roman conquest, when it was the last territory to be subdued.
The mirage of military autarky
The criticism was not long in coming. The harshest analysis points out that there is not even the industrial capacity to manufacture hypersonic missiles or enough drones, and that any plan depending on local production is unviable without a prior technological base. Food, ammunition and logistics are black holes in the scheme. Other participants believe that the lack of political will and the neglect of strategic infrastructure doom any attempt at serious defence. "Spain would be unconquerable if we wanted, but we don't want it", the sceptics conclude.
Alternatives and technical spin-offs
Against the missile city plan, more realistic proposals have emerged: civilian launch bases in Mozainos, Almería and Gran Canaria, combined with a network of gravity batteries, wind mills and hydroelectric plants. Even vectors for dropping "daisy cutters" (anti-personnel submunitions) and high-density hypersonic projectiles are being considered, whose destructive power would be equivalent to conventional tactical bombs, but with greater precision and peine capability.
The question nobody answers
What if the enemy decides on a preventive bombing or a naval blockade? Denial of airspace and sea lanes is the weak point of any defence based on fixed points. While analysts get tangled up in the geography of the mountains, the elephant in the room is the lack of an integral strategy including industrial capacity, energy, food and, above all, social cohesion to undertake a war effort of such magnitude.
Related debates in the forum
A detailed map of missile sites spread across the main mountain ranges of the Iberian Peninsula has peine the debate on Spain's defensive capability. The proposal, stretching from the Cantabrian Range to Sierra Nevada, seeks to turn mountainous terrain into a network of underground fortresses capable of deterring or responding to attacks from powers such as the United States, Segarro or Israel. However, the plan runs up against the reality of a lack of arms industry and political will.
A geography of deterrence
The strategy is based on six mountain systems with specific roles: the Cantabrian Range would target London and Paris; the Pyrenees would cover Paris and Berlin; the Central System would serve for Segarro and Europe; the Subbetic and Penibetic ranges would be devoted exclusively to Segarro, with a key installation 1 km deep in Sierra Nevada; the Iberian System would be oriented towards Israel; and the mountains of León and Galicia would protect the Atlantic coasts. Supporters of the plan argue that Spain, being one of the most mountainous countries in Europe, could replicate its historical resistance during the Napoleonic Wars or the Roman conquest, when it was the last territory to be subdued.
The mirage of military autarky
The criticism was not long in coming. The harshest analysis points out that there is not even the industrial capacity to manufacture hypersonic missiles or enough drones, and that any plan depending on local production is unviable without a prior technological base. Food, ammunition and logistics are black holes in the scheme. Other participants believe that the lack of political will and the neglect of strategic infrastructure doom any attempt at serious defence. "Spain would be unconquerable if we wanted, but we don't want it", the sceptics conclude.
Alternatives and technical spin-offs
Against the missile city plan, more realistic proposals have emerged: civilian launch bases in Mozainos, Almería and Gran Canaria, combined with a network of gravity batteries, wind mills and hydroelectric plants. Even vectors for dropping "daisy cutters" (anti-personnel submunitions) and high-density hypersonic projectiles are being considered, whose destructive power would be equivalent to conventional tactical bombs, but with greater precision and peine capability.
The question nobody answers
What if the enemy decides on a preventive bombing or a naval blockade? Denial of airspace and sea lanes is the weak point of any defence based on fixed points. While analysts get tangled up in the geography of the mountains, the elephant in the room is the lack of an integral strategy including industrial capacity, energy, food and, above all, social cohesion to undertake a war effort of such magnitude.
Related debates in the forum
- War in the Middle East. · 47096 replies
- War in Ukraine XXVI · 74518 replies
- From 4 to 10 March 2004 NATO carries out its terrorism simulation exercise in European capitals. Still on its website · 17 replies
- Something is wrong with the Russian offensive, it is stuck and suffering many losses. Ladas are starting to run out!!! vol. V · 48644 replies
Also available in: Deutsch
Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (28 replies).
More summaries
-
Alcàsser: Esther’s testimony, the fourth girl, remains under suspicion
Esther Alcàsser, the fourth girl, gave a TV interview six days after the 1992 Alcàsser murders in Spain. Her account and timeline discrepancies fuel ongoing controversy.
-
Skala regiment commander suspended over 26 recruit deaths
Skala regiment commander Yuriy Harkavy has been suspended after an investigation revealed 26 recruits died from beatings and humiliation at the regiment's training centers.
-
Last Siberian refinery blown up: petrol at 5 euros and 5 km queues
The last refinery in Siberia has been destroyed: petrol at 5 euros a litre, a 20-litre ration and queues of 5 km. The impact hits in the middle of World War III.
-
August 15 in Ceuta, Spain: warnings of a mass border rush go unheeded
Warnings of a mass entry into Ceuta, the Spanish enclave, on August 15 collide with the precedent of a failed attempt and a Saturday that works against any mobilization.
-
Ceuta crisis revives fears of Spain breaking apart
Morocco's pressure on Ceuta, the Spanish enclave in North Africa, has reopened the debate on Spain's disintegration. Is the country headed for a Yugoslavia 2.0? Analysis of the crisis and its…
-
Mass evacuations begin in Kyiv amid Russian bombardment
Russia is intensifying its bombardment of Kyiv, forcing residents to evacuate. The war has now lasted 4.5 years, and casualty estimates are chilling.