“I want to publicly announce that this week I submitted a resolution to the Council of Ministers that will allow the Army, as the Army wished, to move forward with the modernisation process of the Pandur vehicles,” he stated.
Nuno Melo was speaking in Viseu at the Army Day military ceremony, during which he indicated that this modernisation “will tend to be carried out using national defence industries.”
The minister considered that this is not an expense, but an investment, “because Portugal needs it” and the “Armed Forces are truly the first expression of the sovereignty of a nation worthy of the name.”
“We use the modernisation of the Armed Forces as an engine for economic growth, because we involve national industries in these modernisation projects, and by involving national industries, we are creating new jobs that generate significant financial returns,” he argued.
At this ceremony, the Minister of National Defence also indicated that the first “Army helicopter” should arrive next year.
The new increase in the military condition supplement “will also take place next January 2026.”
In his speech, Nuno Melo also highlighted the proposed State Budget for 2026, whose general vote is scheduled for Tuesday, 28 October.
“The proposed State Budget for 2016 already points to a 14.8% increase in consolidated spending, compared to 2025, when growth had already occurred. This is because we are fighting to have Defence at the forefront of political priorities, and this has not been the case for many years. For many years, defence was the poor relation in politics, and now it is at the forefront of political priorities,” he noted.
In his speech, the minister listed several measures the government is taking, including ensuring that “military personnel on contract” have “access to affordable housing rentals from the IASFA [Armed Forces Social Action Institute].”
“We are currently working on legislative changes that will allow all military personnel, in various forms of service, to have access to complementary social assistance,” he said.
Nuno Melo also highlighted the “construction of the surgery centre at the Armed Forces Hospital.”
“This represents an 18-million-euro investment in a hospital that will become a benchmark in Portugal, as we are acquiring new, modern equipment so that the Armed Forces Hospital is not behind any other hospital in the National Health System or private hospital in Portugal,” he emphasised.
Also speaking at this Army Day ceremony, the Army’s Chief of Staff, General Eduardo Mendes Ferrão, argued that “responding to the challenges arising from the current geopolitical and geostrategic framework requires a modern, adaptable, and resilient Army, prepared to fight in joint and combined environments, in coordination with other forces, agencies, and nations.”
Mendes Ferrão considered it “time to look to the future, a future based on valuing people, re-equipping, and requalifying infrastructure.”
Turning point
The general also emphasised that “2025 marks a turning point.”
“The year in which we stabilised our numbers and began to grow again. Today, we number approximately 13,200 military and civilian personnel, a 6% increase compared to 2024, reversing the downward trend observed since 2007,” he emphasized, warning that the branch is still “far below real needs.”
