🇵🇹 Daily Portugal news for expats & investors — FREE Subscribe

The Portugal Brief

Sign in Subscribe

NATO

Portugal Sets New Military Recruitment Target — Nuno Melo Tells Parliament the Armed Forces Must Grow by 3,700 by End of 2027 as Defence Spending Heads to 5% of GDP

Portugal Sets New Military Recruitment Target — Nuno Melo Tells Parliament the Armed Forces Must Grow by 3,700 by End of 2027 as Defence Spending Heads to 5% of GDP

Defence Minister Nuno Melo presented the 2025-2029 Law of Major Options to Parliament on 21 April, setting a target of 3,700 extra uniformed personnel by end-2027 and a path toward 5% of GDP on defence by 2029.

Portugal Hits 2% NATO Defense Spending Target — But Ranks Among Bottom Five Alliance Members

Portugal Hits 2% NATO Defense Spending Target — But Ranks Among Bottom Five Alliance Members

Portugal achieved NATO's long-standing defense spending benchmark of 2% of GDP in 2025, up from 1.55% the previous year—a 31.67% annual increase that brought national defense expenditure to just over €6 billion, according to NATO's latest annual...

Lajes Field Becomes Mid-Atlantic Staging Post as US Military Traffic Hits Record Levels

Lajes Field Becomes Mid-Atlantic Staging Post as US Military Traffic Hits Record Levels

Lajes Field in the Azores recorded 32 US military aircraft on Saturday, its highest count since the Iran strikes began. Portugal's conditional authorisation faces growing scrutiny as the base becomes a key mid-Atlantic staging post.