Operation Atalanta, formally European Union Naval Force Somalia, is an ongoing counter-piracy military operation at sea off the Horn of Africa and in the Western Indian Ocean, that is the first naval operation conducted by the European Union (EU), in support of United Nations resolutions 1814, 1816, 1838, and 1846 adopted in 2008 by the United Nations Security Council. Since 29 March 2019, the operational headquarters is located at Naval Station Rota in Spain, having moved from London as a result of the British withdrawal from the EU.
Image: Italian ship Carabiniere off the coast of Somalia. May 2021
Image: ESPS Reina Sofía frigate off the coast of Somalia
Naval Station Rota, also known as NAVSTA Rota, is a Spanish-U.S. naval base commanded by a Spanish rear admiral. Located in Rota in the Province of Cádiz, NAVSTA Rota is the largest American military community in Spain, housing U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps personnel. There are also small U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force contingents on the base.
Four US Navy Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers moored at Naval Station Rota during 2017
U.S. Air Force Boeing C-135B-BN Stratolifter on the Rota's Airfield circa mid-1960s
The Spanish Navy aircraft carrier Dédalo (ex USS Cabot) tied up at a pier at Naval Station Rota in 1976
Spanish and American ships moored at the docks of the Rota base in 1981
