“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 desired, to move forward with the modernization of the Pandur,” stated Nuno Melo.
Nuno Melo addressed an audience in Viseu during the military ceremony celebrating Army Day, where he mentioned that this modernization “will tend to be carried out utilizing national defense industries.”
The minister noted that this is not an expense but an investment, “because Portugal needs it” and the “Armed Forces are indeed the primary expression of a nation’s sovereignty worthy of the name.”
“We use the modernization of the Armed Forces as a catalyst for economic growth because we involve national industries in these modernization projects, and by involving national industries, we are creating new jobs that generate significant financial returns,” he argued.
During this ceremony, the Minister of National Defense also indicated that the first “Army helicopter” is expected to arrive next year.
The new increase in military condition allowance “will occur in January 2026.”
In his speech, Nuno Melo also highlighted the State Budget proposal for 2026, which is set to be voted on in general terms on Tuesday.
“The State Budget proposal for 2026 already points to a 14.8% increase in consolidated expenditure compared to 2025 when growth had already occurred. This happens because we strive to have Defense at the forefront of political priorities, which hasn’t been the case for many years. For many years, defense was the poor cousin of politics, and now it is at the forefront of political priorities,” he noted.
In this address, the minister outlined various measures the Government is taking, including providing “contract military personnel” with “access to economic 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 provision, to have access to complementary social action,” he said.
Nuno Melo also highlighted the “construction of the surgical center at the Armed Forces Hospital.”
“This is an 18 million euro investment in a hospital that will thus become a reference in Portugal, as we are acquiring new modern equipment so that the Armed Forces Hospital does not lag behind any other hospital in the National Health System or private institutions in Portugal,” he emphasized.
Also speaking at the Army Day ceremony, Chief of Staff General Eduardo Mendes Ferrão argued that “responding to the challenges resulting 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 believed it is “time to look to the future, a future based on valuing people, re-equipping, and requalifying infrastructures.”
The general also highlighted that “2025 marks a turning point.”
“The year we stabilized the personnel and began to grow again. Today we are about 13,200 military and civilian personnel, an increase of 6% compared to 2024, reversing the declining trend that had been occurring since 2007,” he stressed, warning that the branch is still “far below the real needs.”
