The Minister of National Defense, Nuno Melo, revealed the origin of the companies that were chosen to provide Portugal with what he calls a “historic investment” in the armed forces. Italy, France, Finland, Germany, Spain and Belgium are the countries that were chosen as partners to, by 2030, bring equipment worth 5.8 billion euros to Portugal, within the scope of the European Safe financing, which aims to reinforce Europe’s defense capabilities.
In a press conference held on the afternoon of Wednesday, December 3rd, Nuno Melo did not want to go into details about all the equipment, nor identify the chosen companies, but confirmed the information already provided by DN that the Navy, such as the acquisition of new frigates, will be the recipient of the largest share of the investment. For the army, the acquisition of medium and light combat vehicles is planned; Satellites and drones will be acquired for the Air Force.
The minister highlighted that for the options that were taken, counterparts were considered that took into account the “return to the economy and the involvement of national industry”, he gave as an example,
In the case of the Navy, an investment in equipment, infrastructure and personnel training for the Alfeite Arsenal to ensure maintenance throughout the life cycle of the new frigates; the creation of a munitions factory; the creation of an industrial unit for the production and maintenance of armored vehicles; and a satellite production unit.
Melo also announced that a structure will be created to monitor the execution of contracts, to be approved by the Council of Ministers, endowed with power and autonomy. “Transparency and scrutiny are essential in this plan”, he assured. This European program exclusively allows the purchase of products and platforms already on the market, and does not include investment in the development of new military solutions.
After evaluation by the European Commission, in December 2025, and a formal decision by the Council of the EU, in January 2026, the pre-financing amounts may begin to be made available in the first half of 2026, and it is expected that several projects may officially start with the arrival of the first funds.
The planned financial assistance takes the form of loans with terms of up to 45 years, grace periods of up to 10 years, the possibility of pre-financing of up to 15% and exemption from VAT on signed contracts.