🇵🇹 Portugal news, in English, every morning. Free. Subscribe
Sign in Subscribe

Defence

Nuno Melo Stakes the €5.8 Billion SAFE Defence Envelope on a Mission Task Force, Court of Auditors Loop and Independent Commission From the Setúbal Navy Day Podium — Twelve New Frigates by 2030 Define the Atlantic Pivot

Nuno Melo Stakes the €5.8 Billion SAFE Defence Envelope on a Mission Task Force, Court of Auditors Loop and Independent Commission From the Setúbal Navy Day Podium — Twelve New Frigates by 2030 Define the Atlantic Pivot

Defence Minister Nuno Melo used Navy Day in Setúbal on 23 May to layer a task force, independent commission, Tribunal de Contas loop and parliamentary scrutiny over the €5.8 billion SAFE envelope — with twelve Marinha frigates by 2030 and a €50M-plus Arsenal do Alfeite envelope anchoring the pivot.
The Portugal Brief
Lockheed Martin Signals Openness to F-35 Component Production Across 16 Portuguese Industrial Projects and 21 Beneficiaries on Thursday 14 May — Letter of Request Stays the Gating Step Toward a €5.5 Billion, 27-Aircraft Air Force Renewal

Lockheed Martin Signals Openness to F-35 Component Production Across 16 Portuguese Industrial Projects and 21 Beneficiaries on Thursday 14 May — Letter of Request Stays the Gating Step Toward a €5.5 Billion, 27-Aircraft Air Force Renewal

Lockheed Martin tells ECO on Thursday 14 May that 16 candidate industrial projects, 21 Portuguese beneficiaries and 5 universities sit inside the F-35 engagement architecture. Letter of Request from Lisbon is still the gating procedural step toward a €5.5 billion, 27-aircraft Air Force renewal.
The Portugal Brief
Rangel Contradicts Marco Rubio's Fox News 'Said Yes Before We Asked' Praise on Lajes for Operação Fúria Épica — MNE Says Pedido Landed After the 28 February Iran Strikes, PS Calls It 'Humilhação à Escala Planetária' and PCP Files CPI on Friday 15 May

Rangel Contradicts Marco Rubio's Fox News 'Said Yes Before We Asked' Praise on Lajes for Operação Fúria Épica — MNE Says Pedido Landed After the 28 February Iran Strikes, PS Calls It 'Humilhação à Escala Planetária' and PCP Files CPI on Friday 15 May

Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel rejects Marco Rubio's Fox News claim that Portugal 'said yes before we even asked' on Lajes for Operação Fúria Épica. MNE says the formal pedido for equipment transit, including MQ-9 Reapers, only arrived after the 28 February strikes on Iran began.
The Portugal Brief
Bolieiro Walks the Açores Into the First Conferência de Regiões in Ponta Delgada on 12 May Asking for More US and NATO Troops at Lajes — Regional President Pitches the Atlantic Archipelago as a Submarine-Cable and Data-Centre Hub for the Alliance

Bolieiro Walks the Açores Into the First Conferência de Regiões in Ponta Delgada on 12 May Asking for More US and NATO Troops at Lajes — Regional President Pitches the Atlantic Archipelago as a Submarine-Cable and Data-Centre Hub for the Alliance

The president of the Açores regional government, José Manuel Bolieiro, walked into the first Conferência de Regiões in Ponta Delgada on Monday 12 May 2026 and answered the obvious question that has hung over the Lajes file since the United States...
The Portugal Brief
Nuno Melo Walks Into the Brussels Defence Ministers Meeting on Tuesday 12 May Saying He Is 'Tendentially Against' a European Army — Portugal Lines Up With the NATO-Pillar Camp Against the Spanish Push for an EU Force

Nuno Melo Walks Into the Brussels Defence Ministers Meeting on Tuesday 12 May Saying He Is 'Tendentially Against' a European Army — Portugal Lines Up With the NATO-Pillar Camp Against the Spanish Push for an EU Force

Defence Minister Nuno Melo told reporters at the EU defence ministers meeting in Brussels on Tuesday 12 May 2026 that he is 'tendentially against' a European army, lining Portugal up behind a strengthened NATO European pillar instead of the Spanish push for an autonomous EU force.
The Portugal Brief