Leonor boards the frigate 'Blas de Lezo' for live-fire maneuvers.

After spending five months in training aboard the training ship Juan Sebastián de Elcano, Princess Leonor joined the crew of the frigate Blas de Lezo late Saturday afternoon, a warship where she will participate this Sunday and Monday in live-fire exercises off the southwest of the Canary Islands, including missile launches and combat simulation.

Leonor arrived shortly before 8 p.m. (Canary Islands time) at the Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Naval Base, dressed in her midshipman's uniform. She boarded the ship, where she was greeted by the ship's commander, Frigate Captain Pedro Ramos Carbonell, and the ship's officers. The Blas de Lezo left the port after the Princess toured the ship from the deck to the cabins.

The Sinek 25 exercise, which began on the 9th and will conclude this Monday, involves 1,900 military personnel on board twelve ships - including the submarine S‑81 Isaac Peral and the frigates Blas de Lezo and Santa María -, sixteen aircraft (AV‑8B, F‑18, Eurofighter, helicopters and patrol boats) and logistical support with support ships such as the Cantabria , Carnota and Intermares.

In the exercises this Sunday and Monday, in which Princess Leonor will participate, the two frigates will fire Harpoon surface-to-surface missiles at disused Navy vessels, which will act as targets. During the exercise, the support frigates will monitor the operational perimeter to ensure that civilian navigation is cleared during the firing phases.

Once the Sinek 25 exercise is concluded, the Blas de Lezo, integrated into the Dédalo Expeditionary Combat Group, commanded by the aircraft carrier Juan Carlos I , the flagship of the Navy, will sail towards the Strait of Gibraltar to reach the Western Mediterranean as far as the Tyrrhenian Sea and, again, return to the base in Rota (Cádiz) in July. On the outward journey, between June 21 and 23, the Navy ships will stop in Ceuta, marking the first time that the Princess will set foot in the autonomous city that the King has not yet visited.

After passing through the Blas de Lezo, Princess Leonor will rejoin the Elcano, currently crossing the Atlantic, on July 3rd in the port of Gijón, from where they will sail to Marín, with a stopover in El Ferrol. The training ship will arrive at the Naval Academy base on July 13th, and on the 16th, the feast of Our Lady of Carmen, the commissioning of new Navy officers will take place. On July 14th, the Princess of Asturias will receive the Gold Medal of Galicia in Santiago de Compostela, and also the title of Favorite Daughter in Marín.

After the summer holidays, on September 1st, the Princess of Asturias will enter the San Javier Air Academy (Murcia) to complete her military training, after her first year at the General Academy of Zaragoza (Land) and the second at the Naval School of Marín and the Juan Sebastián de Elcano and Blas de Lezo (Navy).