TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Spanish planes will fly into Tampa's MacDill Air Force Base to pick up a vast shipwreck treasure that Spain wrested away from Florida deep-sea explorers.

The base said in a statement Tuesday night that the Air Force is cooperating with the Spanish government in the transfer of the 17 tons of silver coins and other artifacts. That's expected to happen later this week, but officials won't say exactly when.

The statement said the base will "host" two Spanish C-130 transport planes. Spanish officials are in the process of inspecting and cataloguing the treasure in preparation for the transfer.

Spain won the treasure from Tampa-based Odyssey Marine Exploration after a protracted court battle. Odyssey found and raised it from the depths of the Atlantic Ocean off the Portuguese coast in 2004.