I have a small amount of some very rare Spanish rations, these rations come from the UME, the Militar Emergency Unit, a small independent unit of around 3.400 men selected from within all the branches of the Spanish army(pilots, cavalry, sappers, divers, infantry and so on...) whose purpose is being a task force of national defence, ready at all times, for response against NRBQ threats, terrorism and natural calamities as well as high risk rescue missions, both national and international, this unit integrates specially qualified personnel from all the branches of the armies to make a unit capable responding to any threat by air sea and land with special coordination.
These rations have been really hard to get since this unit is really young(formed in 2006 in response to the terrorist attacks of 9/11, Madrid and London), small and elitist (only about 8-9 people with top scores get inside one of the three battalions every couple of years) and these rations are given to them only during missions, unlike the normal individual rations that are given on training too.
This unit has two types of rations, the RIL, the Ración de Intervencion Ligera, that translates to lightweight intervention ration, a ration designed to feed one soldier between breackfast and supper(similar to a 12h ration), this ration is tailored for the need of the members of this unit, as this unit deals most often on natural disasters, the most common of those being forest fires and high altitude and adverse weather rescues, because of this the ration is designed to help the soldier resist extreme temperatures.
This ration contains a light entree, a pasta salad, a nut mix, 3-4 food bars, 8 high energy drinks, 4 isotonic powder sachets and some extras, like a toothbrush and toothpaste, water purification tablets, antiseptic gel etc...
This ration has light food to avoid heavy digestion lessening the high risk of a lipotimia(a type of fainting) caused by the mix of high-intensity exercise, the high temperatures and changes in blood flow caused by digestion, it also has a lot of high energy drinks rich in maltodextrin to restore energy fast and help maintain hydration and calorie intake and isotonic powder to recuperate the lost electrolytes. This ration packs 1730kcal, mainly carbohydrates (75% aprox.)
These rations where produced short ago in a very small amount ( 6.800units, two rations per soldier) and the contents have BBD of 2020, also this rations probably wont be produced again anymore as there is a prototype that has passed testing and is meant to sustitute this ration.
The second ration this unit has is the Racion de Refuerzo Invernal de RIL, a winter reinforcement ration designed to be dispatched alone or with the RIL, designed to increase the calorie intake to accommodate for missions in cold climates and high altitude (this ration adds 1000-1200kcal, the soldier would get 2900kcal for 12h if dispatched with both) and to help the soldiers withstand the low temperatures, this ration includes a self-heating beverage (coffee or cocoa), kind of a mix between an FRH and a canned beverage, and biscuits to go with it, paté (either duck with Oporto wine or pork(i think Iberian pig)) and crackers to eat it and some extra contents.
This ration is slightly less rare than the RIL, but still way more rare than any of the other existing Spanish army rations, they look like the RIL rations on the outside, just diferent writing on the box
It has taken me several months of work to find these rations, as most of the people in the army don't know about their existance and only the members of the UME that have been deployed on certain missions have gotten to use them.
I've been able to get a small amount of each type...
There are only two
units of RIL (lightweight intervention ration, 12h) available for sale, at 120€ each, with worldwide shipping included, this rations will be shipped wrapped in padding and in a waterproof hard box to minimize the possibility of them getting damaged or squished during shipping. There is a really small amount of Racion de Refuerzo Invernal de RIL(reinforcement ration) available at 80€, worldwide shipping included, shipped the same way as the RILs. (i might be interested in trading one of these)
If you buy one set of rations (RIL&Reinforcement) price would be 170€
For any inquiry or if you feel curious feel free to send me a private message
Carlos