According to the Eco News, Portugal could attract more investment “if it strengthens its commitment to the collective ‘Buy European’ strategy”, argues Nathalie Hellard-Lambic, Managing Director of Airbus in Portugal.
It employs 1,700 people in Portugal, generating an annual economic impact of over €100 million for the country. With the need to respond to the strengthening of its defence capabilities, Airbus sees this as an opportunity to reinforce its commitment to Portugal, Nathalie Hellard-Lambic, Airbus’s general manager in the country, told ECO/eRadar.
“Airbus is committed to working with Portugal on future defence projects”, the manager assures, in her first interview since taking on a leadership role for the company in the Portuguese market. In her view, “Portugal possesses the industrial base and talent required to anchor an even larger share of the European defence supply chain”, so “any future expansion will depend on long-term programmatic commitments and ongoing alignment with national defence authorities”.
Portugal “can reinforce its commitment to the collective ‘Buy European’ strategy by prioritising the acquisition of European platforms”, says the executive of the company, which is part of the Eurofighter consortium, one of the bidders for the sale of future fighter jets to the Portuguese Air Force – a process in which it faces competition from Lockheed Martin’s US-made F-35s from Lockheed Martin or the Gripen from SAAB.
