Princess Leonor flies in an F-5 fighter jet during her training in the Air Force

The Princess of Asturias continues to advance in her military training and has now taken another step: boarding a fighter jet. The Royal Household released new images on Tuesday showing Leonor flying an F-5 fighter jet, a model used in Spain to train future pilots in the Fighter and Attack course.

The flight took place on April 22nd at the 23rd Wing Fighter and Attack Military School, at the Talavera la Real Air Base (Badajoz). There, alongside an instructor from the 23rd Wing, the heiress participated in training exercises with fifth-year students, as part of the training program she follows in the Air Force and Space Corps.

According to the Zarzuela Palace, the day before, on April 21, the Princess of Asturias, along with her classmates from the fourth year of the Air Force and Space Academy, visited the 14th Wing of the Spanish Air Force and Space Force, based in Los Llanos (Albacete). During this visit, she had a close look at the Eurofighter C.16 jet fighters, which are responsible for ensuring the security of Spanish airspace both within Spain and on NATO missions.

During that day, Princess Leonor and her companions attended an air show and toured the hangars where these aircraft are maintained. The NATO Tactical Leadership Programme (TLP), which provides advanced air training to pilots, is also held at this base, explained the Royal Household.

The princess’s military training is now entering its final stage . She will complete the three planned courses at the General Military Academy (AGM), the Naval Military School (ENM), and the General Air and Space Academy (AGA) in July 2026.

‘THE RELEASE’

Last week, Zarzuela Palace also released 15 previously unseen images of the Princess during her second solo flight . In them, she was seen piloting a Pilatus PC-21 (E.27), the Swiss aircraft of the Basic Flight School, used for Phase II or basic aeronautical training for fourth-year students who have completed the previous phase.

On December 18, 2025 , the Princess of Asturias completed her first solo flight. Before taking off, she received instructions from Captain Elena Gutiérrez, who accompanied her on a training flight prior to her first solo piloting. Captain Gutiérrez became the first woman in the Spanish Air Force to pilot a Eurofighter fighter jet solo in 2020.

Last Monday, the Royal Household also made public the university education that will take the Princess of Asturias to Getafe (Madrid) next October to study for a degree in Political Science at the public university Carlos III of Madrid (UC3M).

MILITARY TRAINING AND ACADEMIC FUTURE

Princess Leonor’s university education will be the same as that of all other graduates in Political Science from Carlos III University. No specific curriculum has been planned for her, unlike what has happened with her military training.

The Princess of Asturias has been training in the Army since August 2023. The first year she trained at the General Military Academy (AGM) in Zaragoza , a direct link with Aragon , and in July 2025 she completed her time as a midshipman in the Navy aboard the training ship ‘Juan Sebastián Elcano’.

During the 2023-2024 academic year, he received basic military training alongside the first-year students of the AGM, later integrating with the second-year students, the 82nd promotion, after his Flag Oath.

Subsequently, in the 2024-2025 academic year, he continued his training at the Naval Military Academy with the third-year students. In the current 2025-2026 academic year, he has joined the fourth-year students of the General Air and Space Academy, belonging to the 78th graduating class.

In July 2026, the three military training courses at the AGM, the ENM and the AGA will be completed , as established by Royal Decree 173/2023, of March 14, which regulates the training and military career of Her Royal Highness the Princess of Asturias, Leonor de Borbón y Ortiz.

This will result in obtaining the military ranks of cadet officer in the Army and the Air Force and Space, as well as cadet lieutenant in the Navy. The promotion to cadet lieutenant is expected to be published in the Official State Gazette at the end of this course.

According to details provided by the Royal Household, the Princess of Asturias’s class (from the 82nd class of the AGM, the 427th class of the ENM and the 78th class of the AGA) will complete the last of the five years planned during the 2026-2027 academic year, finishing in July 2027.

It will be then that Princess Leonor will receive the royal commissions of lieutenant of the Army and the Air Force and Space , as well as ensign of the Navy, participating in the award ceremonies in Zaragoza, Marín and San Javier, together with their respective graduating classes.