There's money to be made in defense, and many Portuguese companies have recognized this.
The defense sector generated around €2.1 billion ($2.4 billion) in revenue last year, according to Jose Neves of the industry association, AED Cluster Portugal, which involves more than 160 Portuguese organizations working in aeronautics, space and defense.
"And the trend is upward," he said.
Portugal is also actively purchasing equipment abroad to meet the NATO-agreed target of spending 5% of gross domestic product on defense. Lisbon is buying frigates from Italy, tanks from Germany and new fighter jets. With the latter, the country is undecided as to whether those should come from the US or Europe.
In 2025, Portuguese Defense Minister Nuno Melo questioned the purchase of US F-35 fighter jets from Lockheed Martin, a deal that had practically been finalized at the time.
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