“The Minister of Defense made unfounded statements. It was precisely the previous government [of the PS] that proceeded with the resolution of the Council of Ministers to acquire aerial means until 2029, namely the new ‘Canadair’,” stated José Luís Carneiro, speaking to journalists before a meeting with young people in the center of Paredes de Coura, in the district of Viana do Castelo.
The PS secretary-general also noted that Nuno Melo “also failed to tell the truth when he said that previous governments prevented the Armed Forces from cooperating” in fighting fires, since “the previous government allowed, with the new Civil Protection system, for the Armed Forces to cooperate in civilian roles for inspection, patrolling, and preparing aerial means to operate.”
“Moreover: the KC 390, which began to be delivered and is expected to incorporate fire combat capacities, was ensured in the contract by the previous government,” he guaranteed.
Carneiro clarified that the KC 390 were not purchased by the previous government because “the company and the industry that manufactured them stopped producing, and Europe needed to make a joint order for them to agree to manufacture again.”
The socialist leader also emphasized that “the entire project to adapt the C 130 to fight fires was underway and was triggered by PS governments.”
“It is necessary to ask whether, when I proposed advancing with the activation of the Air Force’s P3 to coordinate with the GNR in aerial surveillance, whether that P3 was used and if it was used in the terms it should have been to ensure this surveillance,” he remarked.
The Minister of Defense stated that there are no Armed Forces fighting fires because “the political power removed the State from the combat.”
On August 6, the Minister of National Defense announced that the State will acquire two forest fire combat kits to equip two C-130 aircraft, an investment of approximately 16 million euros.
When questioned about a newspaper report that the Portuguese Air Force has 10 aircraft (three KC-390 planes and seven Koala helicopters) that could be used to fight rural fires but are not utilized for this purpose because the State did not purchase the kits to adapt the equipment for this mission, Melo explained that these equipments are intended for other types of functions.
“The KC-390 has nothing to do with fire kits, although, for example, in Brazil, some receive fire kits for completely different scenarios, which have nothing to do with the Portuguese reality. Portugal has one dimension and nature; Brazil has another, and for Portugal, the C-130 aircraft are much better prepared,” he detailed.
Regarding the Koala helicopters, Nuno Melo stated that they are being used in fires for “the transport of personnel, among other things,” and that “it is not even correct to say that they are not being used.”
