Lisbon, Dec. 31, 2025 (Lusa) - The budget for Portugal's Military Programming Law has been increased by €221 million in 2025, five times the initial allocation, reflecting the investment associated with the target of 2% of GDP for defence, the Army announced on Wednesday.
In a statement, the Office of the Chief of Staff of the Army revealed that the military programming law allocation in 2025 saw "a very significant increase throughout the year," from €55.9 million in January to €276.6 million in the revised December allocation, "representing an increase of €220.7 million".
"In percentage terms, this increase corresponds to +395% compared to the initial allocation, which means that the 2025 military programming law was almost five times higher than the figure with which the year began," it added.
According to the Army, the largest share of this increase was secured by investment in defence associated with the goal of meeting 2% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), amounting to €177 million, which represents about 64% of the total allocation and approximately 80% of the increase recorded during this year.
Added to this amount are funds from support for Ukraine (€15.194 million), the transition of budget balances (€17.765 million) and the Army's own revenues (€6.683 million) and disposal of equipment (€4.056 million).
Among the main investments financed are the modernisation of the VBR PANDUR (wheeled armoured vehicle), with €100 million, Short-Range Air Defence (SHORAD), with €45 million, and the reinforcement of communications and command and control, with €17 million for SIC-T (Tactical Information and Communications System) modules and €5 million for the HMS (Headquarters Management System).
"The reinforcement also includes 10 million euros for the Anti-Tank project, allowing us to resize the level of ambition and prepare for the acquisition," the statement added.
As part of the funds for the support to Ukraine, the additional allocation was directed to areas of mobility and protection, including investment in VTM (Medium Tactical Vehicles), cyber defence and continued modernisation.
The Army's own revenues have made it possible to strengthen operational capabilities, such as the acquisition of micro UAVs (drones), enabling the planned investment in 40 systems and strengthening surveillance, reconnaissance and situational awareness in support of forces on the ground.
According to the Army, the evolution of the military programming law allows for the maintenance of "priorities such as platform modernisation, air defence, command and control digitalisation, tactical communications, cyber resilience and unmanned systems, in line with interoperability requirements and operational goals within the allied framework".
RCS/AYLS // AYLS
Lusa
