These illustration photos show a military beach landing exercise at the Rota naval base in Southern Spain. This exercise was part of the Crisis Management Military Exercise 23 (MILEX 23) aimed at training the EU’s military readiness to respond to external conflicts and crises. MILEX 23 is a key component in the development of the Rapid Deployment Capacity, under the EU Strategic Compass. Aircrafts, vessels and 2800 personnel from different EU member states participated in the week-long exercise in Spain.