During a press conference following a Council of Ministers meeting, Nuno Melo sought to clarify misunderstandings raised by José Luís Carneiro regarding Canadair airplanes. Melo stated that the decision to acquire new aircraft had initially been made by the government led by Pedro Passos Coelho, but was halted after the first Socialist government under António Costa took office.
“It was under the Socialist Party that there was a lack of response regarding this issue. Political statements were made indicating that the acquired Canadair planes would entail additional costs, namely maintenance and crew expenses, and that the best solution would be in the private sector,” he added.
This position comes after José Luís Carneiro alleged that the Defense Minister made “baseless statements” and did not tell the truth about aerial firefighting resources, stressing that it was the Socialists who “ensured” KC 390 combat capacity and approved a resolution to acquire two new Canadair aircraft.
Nuno Melo called for a “memory exercise” to recall that in 2015, another government formed by a coalition between the PSD and CDS “already advocated for the purchase of Canadair aircraft” and that this did not happen due to the succeeding PS executive’s decision.
The Defense Minister also responded to former Defense Minister João Gomes Cravinho, who reportedly said the government is investing in “firefighting kits in obsolete aircraft,” assuring that the C-130 planes in question “emerged modernized” from the workshops of OGMA – Indústria Aeronáutica de Portugal.
Melo also mentioned that it was PS governments that decided to purchase ‘kits’ for the C-130 and cannot now “claim that the aircraft were obsolete.”
The National Defense Minister reiterated that the new Canadair planes are expected to arrive in 2029 and 2030 “if everything goes well.”
