Good to know · Legal

US-Spain Agreement on Defense Cooperation and Torrejón’s air base / NATO CAOC status

Torrejón de Ardoz hosts the Spanish Air Force’s Base Aérea de Torrejón, historically a joint US-Spanish facility under the 1988 bilateral Convenio entre el Reino de España y los Estados Unidos de América sobre Cooperación para la Defensa (signed Madrid, 1 December 1988). The base is not listed among the facilities with a permanent US force presence in the agreement’s current annexes (which, as amended, name Morón, Zaragoza, and Rota); instead, Torrejón today is the host of NATO’s Combined Air Operations Center Torrejón (CAOC TJ), an international NATO Command Structure unit commanded by a Spanish Air Force general, operational since 2013/2014.

Why it matters

Relevant mainly to anyone connected to US/NATO defense personnel or researching the base’s history; it does not create a general SOFA status for ordinary civilian newcomers to the town.

When

Research interest in the air base’s legal status, or affiliation with US/NATO personnel potentially posted to CAOC TJ.

Official page

CAOC Torrejón

Last checked

15 Oct 2026