The IACOB project is a long-term ambitious observational project which
aims to provide an (unprecedented) holistic empirical overview of the
main physical properties of Galactic massive O- and B-type stars. The
project pursues that the compiled information can be used as a reliable
and long-lasting anchor point for our theories of stellar atmospheres,
winds, interiors and evolution of massive stars.

Last November we celebrated the 15th anniversary of the first observing
campaign of the IACOB project. The team is also working hard to wrap up
the project before summer 2026. Many things have happened during these
years which are slowly but surely driving us to a paradigm shift of our
traditional understanding of the physical properties and evolution of
(Galactic) massive stars. I will (1) highlight the
main results obtained by the IACOB project in the last decade (2)
explain why we now know that massive star evolution is not so simple as
explained in the traditional textbooks, and (3) describe plans of
the IACOB project, including data from the next-generation large-scale
spectroscopic surveys WEAVE-SCIP and 4MIDABLE-LR-OB, in which the
Spanish massive star community will be playing a key role.