Could Spain’s Military Emergency Unit Offer Lessons for the Future?
As the Cairngorms National Park continues to battle one of its largest and longest running wildfires in recent years, attention has understandably focused on the remarkable efforts of the emergency services and the many organisations working tirelessly to protect lives, property and the natural environment.
The wildfire, centred near Nethy Bridge, has now burned for almost two weeks across exceptionally challenging terrain. More than 500 firefighters have been involved in the response, supported by helicopters, forestry teams, gamekeepers, estate workers and numerous partner agencies. Residents were evacuated, a major incident was declared, and vast areas of woodland and moorland have been affected.
Fighting a wildfire on this scale is unlike tackling a building fire. Crews are often working in remote locations, over difficult terrain, with limited access and rapidly changing weather conditions. Fires can burn underground through deep layers of peat, reappearing hundreds of metres away, while strong winds can carry burning embers far beyond the main fire front, creating new outbreaks.
As the incident escalated, the Scottish Government requested military assistance, including aerial support capable of dropping water directly onto the fire. The Ministry of Defence advised that the UK military does not operate a dedicated aerial firefighting capability, although other forms of military assistance, including Chinook helicopters for heavy lifting, logistics and personnel, were offered if required. While Chinook helicopters can be equipped to carry large water buckets for firefighting, the RAF does not routinely operate them in that role.
The situation has prompted a wider question about whether the United Kingdom possesses the specialist national capabilities that may become increasingly necessary as climate change contributes to more frequent and more intense wildfires.
Interestingly, one European country addressed this challenge more than twenty years ago.
Spain recognised the challenge early
Spain experiences some of Europe’s most destructive wildfires every year. Combined with severe flooding, earthquakes and other natural disasters, successive emergencies convinced the Spanish Government that relying solely on regional emergency services was no longer sufficient.
In 2005, Spain created the Military Emergency Unit, known as the Unidad Militar de Emergencias, or UME. The unit became operational the following year and was designed with a single purpose, protecting people and communities during major emergencies.
Unlike conventional military formations, the UME is not primarily concerned with combat operations. Instead, it exists to provide rapid, specialist assistance whenever local emergency services become overwhelmed.
Today, the organisation is widely regarded as one of the world’s leading emergency response forces.
A military organisation dedicated to saving lives
The UME forms part of the Spanish Armed Forces and operates under the Ministry of Defence in support of Spain’s civil protection system.
Today, the organisation comprises approximately 3,500 highly trained military personnel, organised into five Emergency Intervention Battalions strategically positioned across Spain, supported by engineering, communications, logistics and specialist response units. Their nationwide distribution allows personnel, vehicles and equipment to be mobilised rapidly, often reaching major incidents within hours of activation.
Rather than replacing firefighters, police or ambulance services, the UME reinforces them during the largest and most complex incidents, bringing additional manpower, specialist equipment and national coordination.
One of the most remarkable aspects of the UME is not only its capability, but its cost. Following its creation, Spain invested in a phased implementation programme together with a long term procurement plan worth up to €903 million, which included 19 transport helicopters and 9 firefighting aircraft. Once fully established, the organisation’s annual operating costs were estimated at around €150 million, covering personnel, training, equipment maintenance and operational readiness.
Spread across Spain’s population, this equates to around €3 per person each year to maintain one of the world’s leading specialist emergency response organisations, providing a permanent, 24 hour capability to respond to wildfires, floods, earthquakes, severe storms, industrial accidents and other major emergencies. By defence standards, it represents a relatively modest investment in national resilience.
Although the United Kingdom spends around four to five times more on defence each year than Spain, it does not maintain a permanent military organisation dedicated exclusively to responding to major domestic emergencies such as wildfires, floods and other natural disasters. Spain has instead chosen to allocate around €150 million each year, equivalent to approximately €3 per person, to maintain the UME as a permanent national emergency response capability. It is an investment that represents only a tiny proportion of Spain’s overall defence budget, yet provides a highly specialised force ready to respond to major emergencies 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Prepared for almost every emergency
Although best known for fighting wildfires, the UME is trained to respond to an exceptionally wide range of emergencies.
These include:
• Large scale wildfires
• River and coastal flooding
• Severe storms and heavy snowfall
• Earthquakes
• Landslides
• Chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear incidents
• Urban search and rescue operations
• Environmental disasters
• Humanitarian emergencies
• Public health emergencies, including the COVID-19 pandemic.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the UME carried out one of the largest domestic military operations in Spain’s modern history. Under Operation Balmis, personnel disinfected hospitals, care homes, airports, railway stations and other essential facilities while supporting civilian authorities across the country.
Built specifically for disaster response
The UME’s equipment reflects its specialist role.
Instead of armoured vehicles and combat equipment, it operates high mobility wildfire appliances, bulldozers, excavators, rescue boats, amphibious vehicles, mobile command centres, drones, advanced communications systems and water purification units. It can also draw upon helicopters and transport aircraft from the wider Spanish Armed Forces whenever required.
This combination of specialist equipment and highly trained personnel allows the UME to operate effectively in some of the most demanding conditions imaginable.
One of Europe’s leading wildfire response organisations
Wildfires are among the UME’s greatest strengths.
Personnel regularly work alongside regional fire services to protect communities, construct firebreaks using heavy machinery, evacuate residents, establish command centres and provide logistical support during prolonged incidents. Operations frequently continue around the clock for days or even weeks.
Because Spain experiences major wildfires almost every year, the organisation has developed an exceptional level of operational experience. It is now recognised as one of Europe’s leading specialist wildfire response organisations and has assisted other countries through the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism when large fires have exceeded national resources.
Helping other countries during wildfire and other emergencies
Although its primary responsibility is protecting Spain, the UME also deploys internationally.
Its personnel have assisted following earthquakes, floods, wildfires and humanitarian emergencies across Europe and elsewhere. Its Urban Search and Rescue teams are accredited under the United Nations International Search and Rescue Advisory Group, confirming that they meet internationally recognised standards for overseas deployment following major disasters.
Since becoming operational almost twenty years ago, the UME has completed more than 800 emergency deployments, earning widespread respect from emergency planners around the world.
What lessons could the United Kingdom learn?
The United Kingdom already has highly capable Armed Forces that regularly provide assistance to civilian authorities through Military Aid to the Civil Authorities, commonly known as MACA. Military engineers, logistics specialists, transport aircraft and helicopters can all be made available when appropriate.
However, the recent wildfire in the Cairngorms has highlighted an important distinction.
The UK does not have a permanent military emergency organisation dedicated exclusively to responding to domestic natural disasters. Nor does it possess a dedicated military aerial firefighting capability equipped to tackle major wildfires.
Spain reached a different conclusion after experiencing repeated natural disasters. Rather than relying solely on existing military units when emergencies occur, it established a permanent specialist organisation whose sole purpose is disaster response.
As climate change continues to increase the risk of prolonged heatwaves, drought and wildfires across parts of the United Kingdom, particularly in areas of extensive forestry, peatland and open moorland, the question is no longer whether these incidents can happen, but how often they may occur in the future.
Resilience
The wildfire in the Cairngorms has demonstrated the extraordinary professionalism, courage and determination of Scotland’s firefighters and all those supporting them. Their efforts have undoubtedly prevented even greater damage under exceptionally difficult conditions.
At the same time, the incident has prompted a wider discussion about national resilience.
Would a specialist organisation, modelled on Spain’s Military Emergency Unit, provide additional capabilities during major emergencies? Could dedicated aerial firefighting resources improve the UK’s response to increasingly large wildfires? Should specialist engineering, logistics and emergency response teams be permanently organised and equipped for domestic disasters rather than assembled as required?
These are not questions about replacing the outstanding work of existing emergency services. Rather, they are questions about whether additional national capability is now needed to meet the growing challenges posed by extreme weather and climate related emergencies.
Spain answered that question more than twenty years ago by creating the Military Emergency Unit. Today, with around 3,500 personnel, more than 800 emergency deployments to its name, and an annual operating cost equivalent to only around €3 per person, it is regarded as one of the world’s most effective and cost efficient specialist disaster response organisations.
As Europe experiences longer wildfire seasons and more extreme weather, Spain’s experience demonstrates that investing in preparedness before disaster strikes can be both highly effective and remarkably affordable. Whether the United Kingdom should develop a similar capability is ultimately a matter for governments and taxpayers, but the question is one that the recent events in the Cairngorms have undoubtedly brought into much sharper focus.
