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as it relates to air force needs, and is ultimately responsible for coordinating and centralizing air force contracting and purchasing of needed equipment and materiel. The Subsecretary is advised by the Advisory Council of Aeronautical Industries and controls six directorates or offices which are concerned with supply, auditing, personnel, services, procurement, and the aeronautical industry.

The Subsecretariat of Civil Aviation is responsible for everything related to commercial and private aviation, the functioning of related subordinate organizations, and for advising the Minister of Air on policy as it relates to civil aviation. He chairs and is advised by the Superior Council of Airports on matters relating to airport policy, and is assisted by a technical secretariat which is concerned with the planning, inspection, and general coordination of civil aviation activities. The principal divisional elements of the Subsecretariat of Civil Aviation are the Air Transport Directorate, the Airports Directorate, and the Infrastructure Directorate. The Air Transport Directorate General is responsible for preparing and executing plans related to civil aviation and maintaining relations with equivalent foreign and international organizations. The Airports Directorate General is responsible for the national Air Traffic Control Service and the management of navigational and telecommunications aids, and airports. The Infrastructure Directorate General is primarily responsible for the construction and maintenance of installations and facilities. Also subordinate to the Subsecretariat of Civil Aviation are the National Meteorological Service, the Search and Rescue Service, the Helicopter Service, the Aircraft Registration Office, and the National Airports Office. The Subsecretary of Civil Aviation is also the Spanish representative to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

To execute its operational tasks, the air force is organized into four functional commands -- Air Defense, Tactical Air, Air Transport, and Air Materiel -- which are directly subordinate to the Minister of Air. Aircraft and support units are established and maintained as appropriate, and each command has its own staff. Organization of operational aircraft units follows basically that of the US Air Force with wings or groups composed of squadrons, flights, and detachments in descending order. The Chief of the Air Defense Command (Air Defense Commander) is assigned operational control for the fighter interceptor squadrons, the functioning of the EW/GCI radar system, and the integration of army ADA and SAM units into the total air defense system. Although he is directly subordinate to the Minister of Air in peacetime, the Air Defense Commander automatically becomes subject to the direction of the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces in time of war. The Air Defense Commander exercises operational command of his forces through the Air Defense Combat Operations Center (ADOC) which is located in the US-Spanish Joint Air Control and Coordination Center (JACCC) at Torrejon de Ardoz Airbase, near Madrid. Subordinate to the ADOC are three air defense sector operations centers (SOCs) -- northeast, central, and southwest -- which are supported by combat reporting centers (CRCs). In the conduct of air defense operations, early warning information obtained by a CRC is passed to its parent SOC, which, in turn, alerts the ADCOC and appropriate interceptor units. Overall control and coordination of air defense operations are maintained by the ADOC, which is in a position to monitor activity in all three air defense sectors. However, the direction of actual intercept operations would be accomplished by the SOC, which is co-located with a radar site. A microwave system provides the primary communication link for all elements of the air defense system. The commanders of the three remaining functional commands are responsible for combat and support operations deriving from their respective command designations.

Also directly subordinate to the Minister of Air are four geographic commanders who are primarily responsible for providing logistical and technical support to units of the functional commands which are located within their geographic command boundaries. Three air regions designated First, Second, and Third with headquarters at Madrid, Seville, and Zaragoza, respectively, are responsible for peninsular Spain and the Balearic Islands, and one air zone, the Canaries Air Zone (headquartered in Las Palmas), is responsible for the Canary Islands and Spanish Sahara. The air regions and the air zone are further divided into air sectors. The position of sub inspector created in the air regions and the air zone appears to be comparable to a deputy chief; in most cases, the sub-inspector serves concurrently as the chief of the air sector in which the respective air region or air zone headquarters is located. With the exception of the Canaries Air Zone Command, which controls operational units deployed from peninsular Spain to the Canary Islands and Spanish Sahara, the three air region commands have at their disposal only small assorted squadrons and flights which are used primarily for proficiency flying, liaison, and light transport activities. However, in the event of war or internal emergency, numerous T-6 Texan piston trainer-type aircraft assigned to these air region

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APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200090014-1