Lisbon, March 3, 2025 (Lusa) - The number of Portuguese companies active in the defence sector has risen to 380, according to the chairman of idD Portugal Defence, who stressed that the international context "encourages" this type of company to invest more in the sector.
"There's clearly an environment that leads and prompts companies to look at the defence sector, even companies that don't usually do much in this area, that's for sure," said the chairman of the board of directors of IdD Portugal Defence, the state-owned holding company that manages public stakes in companies in the defence sector.
Speaking to Lusa, Ricardo Pinheiro Alves said that there are currently 380 companies identified as being active in the area of defence, an increase on the last figure of 363 published in 2022.
The president of the IdD made a "very positive" assessment of the business mission that the IdD organised to Turkey last week, with the support of the Portuguese Embassy in Ankara, AICEP - the Portuguese Agency for Investment and Foreign Trade and the Office of the Defence Attaché in Ankara, in which more than a dozen Portuguese companies took part - more than in the first similar meeting held three years ago in Lisbon.
Ricardo Pinheiro Alves pointed out that there is a "prospect, not only in Portugal, but in the other NATO countries", of more investment in the area of defence, "and therefore companies are aware of this reality and are showing more interest".
He pointed out that there are some companies in Portugal that are exclusively dedicated to the defence sector, but "there are only a few", since "the vast majority" see defence as a way of expanding their turnover, manufacturing products with dual use: civilian and military.
Examples of this are companies in the textile sector, which can start producing uniforms that are useful in a military context, drone companies, which "were often developed for civilian purposes and are now beginning to have a military application", or metalworking companies that are working more with defence.
Ricardo Pinheiro Alves emphasised that the drone sector is "very significant" for Portugal and is an area in which the country can "exchange knowledge" with Turkey. Last week, Portugal and France declared their intention to study a programme for the joint acquisition of drones, including those of Portuguese origin.
Regarding the business visit to Turkey, the official emphasised that "Portuguese industry is, in a way, complementary to Turkish industry".
"Nowadays the Turkish produce almost everything, or try to produce almost everything, from start to finish. They produce naval platforms, aerial platforms and land platforms. Here, platform is the term that is normally used for aircraft, ships and armoured vehicles. Portugal produces various components and parts of this platform, mainly in terms of systems that have greater added value. We have a great deal of specialisation in software development and in services such as engineering services, which can be incorporated into these platforms," he said.
This international mission, in which more than 110 meetings were organised between the Portuguese and Turkish defence industries and visits were made to four of the main companies in the Turkish industry, has not yet resulted in any signed contracts since "business cycles are usually long", and contacts between companies will now continue.
In July, the IdD is already planning to organise another meeting, this time with Italian companies.
In December last year, the Portuguese Navy and Turkish shipyard STM signed a contract for the acquisition of two new refuelling ships, which are due to arrive in Portugal in 2028.
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Lusa
