When discussions arise in Brussels, Madrid, or Ramstein about the future Integrated Air Mobility Training Center (CIEMA), the focus often shifts to the numbers: an initial investment of €42 million, around 350 direct jobs during the startup phase, and a new complex associated with the Air and Space Force in the heart of Teruel. However, the true scope of the project is not only measured in budget or square meters but also by the type of capabilities it aspires to concentrate at an airport that, until a few years ago, was relatively unknown on the Spanish map.
The CIEMA is established to address a central question in contemporary European defense: how to train crews who will operate in increasingly complex scenarios, ranging from humanitarian crises to tactical operations in contested environments, utilizing a growing mix of manned aircraft and unmanned systems. Teruel has been selected as the site where much of this training will systematically take place.
A center for training air mobility, not just pilots
The CIEMA is not a conventional flight school or a new military airbase. Its purpose is air mobility, the ability to transport troops, materials, medical equipment, or humanitarian aid across vast distances in a very short time and under conditions that rarely adhere to the manual.
In recent years, operations for evacuating civilians, logistical support in Afghanistan, responses to natural disasters, and backing for Ukraine have demonstrated that transport aviation is as critical for European allies as the most sophisticated combat systems. Loading and unloading aircraft in hostile environments, operating on unprepared runways, flying at low altitude under adverse conditions, or coordinating crews from different countries are tasks that require constant and standardized preparation.
The CIEMA aims to concentrate this type of training in a complex designed from the outset for tactical air mobility: advanced simulation, mission planning, use of unmanned aerial systems, special operations training, and integrated exercises with other allies. It is not just about training pilots but about training complete teams—crews, cargo personnel, communication and logistics specialists—in scenarios that closely resemble real-life situations.
Teruel, from «aircraft graveyard» to innovation hub
At first glance, it may seem that the choice of Teruel Airport solely relates to land availability and the absence of significant commercial traffic. In reality, the project is built on a decade of quiet transformation that has turned this infrastructure into Europe’s largest center for aircraft parking, maintenance, and recycling, as well as a laboratory for innovation related to sustainable aviation.
The airport’s expansive platforms allow for operations with large aircraft without interfering with commercial routes, while the limited number of passenger flights offers a flexibility hard to find in other European facilities. This is complemented by generally favorable weather, a clear environment, and airspace suitable for complex exercises—factors that military and civilian operators have capitalized on in recent years.
The airport is not starting from scratch in terms of tactical training. In exercises under the European Tactical Airlift Programme (ETAP), aircraft and crews from countries such as Spain, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Norway, and Denmark have utilized its facilities for tactical transport maneuvers, cargo loading and unloading in simulated hostile environments, and paratrooper drops. The CIEMA formalizes and continues this experience, stabilizing the presence of the Air and Space Force and endowing the airport with a permanent role in the European training architecture.
A future-oriented infrastructure, not just for the present
The planned configuration for the CIEMA departs from the classic concept of a closed military base. The project includes specific areas for tactical training, advanced simulation facilities, and spaces dedicated to experimenting with new technologies, from remotely piloted aerial systems to digital tools for mission planning and management.
One unique element will be the creation of a dirt runway that allows for operations on unpaved surfaces, an essential capability when aircraft must operate in countries with limited or conflict-damaged airport infrastructures. The Ministry of Defense intends to minimize the gap between training and operation: for crews to confront scenarios in Teruel that resemble those in Mali, Afghanistan, or Ukraine more than those of a conventional European airport.
In parallel, the design of the CIEMA incorporates the logic of dual-use technologies—with both civilian and military applications—that currently shape much of the European agenda in the field of innovation: process automation, artificial intelligence applied to planning, real-time data analysis, and multinational cooperation in shared mission environments.
More than defense: economic impact and positioning for Aragón
The project has a clear economic component. The initial investment of €42 million and the creation of hundreds of direct jobs during its development phase represent a significant boost for a province that has been seeking to diversify its productive base and consolidate high-value-added activities for years.
However, the most interesting effect goes beyond civil works or military personnel stationed at the center. The ongoing presence of instructors, technicians, simulation specialists, aircraft maintenance companies, and providers of communication technologies, artificial intelligence, or unmanned systems can serve as a magnet for new investments surrounding the airport and the Aragonese aerospace ecosystem.
Aragón arrives at this point with some level of progression. The Zaragoza Logistics Platform, the presence of various international companies in the sector, and the development of Teruel Airport as a center for aircraft parking and recycling have positioned the region on a map that is no longer limited to conventional logistics. The incorporation of the CIEMA adds a strategic dimension directly linked to security and defense and reinforces Aragón’s image as a territory capable of combining industrial activity, technological innovation, and collaboration with national and allied armed forces.
A project with a vision for decades
The CIEMA is not conceived as a temporary infrastructure, dependent on a single crisis or a singular defense program. Its design responds to the need to have continuously trained air mobility capabilities over the coming decades, adaptable to technologies and scenarios that are still in development.
The growing automation, intensive use of drones, handling of large volumes of data for mission planning, integration of different types of platforms, and ongoing cooperation among allied nations point to increasingly sophisticated training that is difficult to improvise.
