The Government promotes two new Air Division generals

The Council of Ministers has promoted Brigadier Generals Enrique Fernández Ambel and Pascual Soria Martínez to the rank of Major General of the General Corps of the Air and Space Army. The decision is formalized in Royal Decrees 963/2026 and 964/2026, both dated November 4, published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) no. 277, Friday, November 6, 2026, in Section II.A, pages 149419 and 149420.

Two decrees with the same text and different recipients

The two decrees literally share the same formula: the person who until now was a Brigadier General of the same corps is promoted to the rank of Major General of the General Corps of the Air and Space Army. Both were approved “at the proposal of the Minister of Defense” and “following deliberation by the Council of Ministers at its meeting on November 3, 2026,” according to the published text.

Royal Decree 963/2026, of November 4: promotes Enrique Fernández Ambel (BOE-A-2026-23279, pág. 149419).
Royal Decree 964/2026, of November 4: promotes Pascual Soria Martínez (BOE-A-2026-23280, pág. 149420).

The decrees appear as issued on November 4, 2026, signed by King Felipe VI and countersigned by the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles Fernández. The publication in the BOE is what provides legal effectiveness to the promotion and constitutes the only remaining step after the Cabinet’s agreement.

Trajectory: two parallel careers in the Air Force

Both military officers reached the rank of Brigadier General in the last two years, and in both cases, the promotion to Major General comes shortly after the previous rank.

Enrique Fernández Ambel was promoted to Brigadier General by Royal Decree 581/2024, of June 18, with an effective date of June 24, 2024.
He was subsequently appointed as the Director of Security and Planning of the Spanish State Space Agency, according to the resolution of September 24, 2026, from that body (BOE-A-2026-20478, BOE no. 244, of October 2, 2026).
Pascual Soria Martínez was promoted to Brigadier General by Royal Decree 1042/2024, of October 8 (BOE-A-2024-20418, BOE no. 244, of October 9, 2024).

A year of movement at the top of the Air Army

These promotions are added to those already recorded this year in the same corps, where two Major Generals have moved to the higher rank of Lieutenant General: Carlos Pérez Martínez, by Royal Decree 201/2026, of March 13, and Jerónimo Domínguez Barbero, by Royal Decree 336/2026, of April 22.

With these two new appointments, the Air and Space Force reinforces its upper echelon with two Major Generals who fill the vacancies generated by previous promotions. This Friday’s BOE includes the promotions within the block of appointments of the Ministry of Defense, among other personnel resolutions of the General State Administration.

How to read the decree

The structure of the text is typical for this type of provision: a first paragraph identifying the promotee and their new rank, the mention of the Council of Ministers’ agreement and the formula “I hereby promote,” followed by the place and date of issuance and the signature of the Head of State with the ministerial endorsement. The decree does not detail the destination or position that the promoted officers will occupy, a matter that is resolved in subsequent personnel resolutions.

The impact of the news is twofold. Institutionally, it consolidates the renewal of the leadership of the Air and Space Force in a year marked by several movements in its senior ranks. Personally, it confirms the promotion of two general officers with rapid trajectories: Fernández Ambel, who in just over two years has gone from colonel to Major General and who balances his military career with a management position at the Spanish Space Agency, and Soria Martínez, who reaches the same rank barely two years after his promotion to Brigadier.

Source: BOE, no. 277, of November 6, 2026, Section II.A, pages 149419 and 149420 (official reference: BOE-A-2026-23279 and BOE-A-2026-23280).