Portugal unable to respond to NATO: mobilization of all means would cost €780 million
Just six days after Russia invaded Ukraine, the three branches of the Armed Forces and the General Staff of the Armed Forces (EMGFA) calculated what it would cost to fulfill Portugal’s commitments to NATO in 2022 if the forces Portuguese troops assigned to the Atlantic Alliance were mobilized by Allied headquarters. In a document classified as “confidential”, dated March 2, 2022, to which Expresso had access, the use of all means would cost €780 million, with expenses for armament, projection and celebration of forces. That is, an amount that represents more than a third of the overall Defense budget (which was €2.3 billion in 2022) and 10 times more than the amount foreseen for the Deployed National Forces (which was €73 million ).
A note from the Air Force, in the same document, warned of “personnel needs for prolonged commitment”, which made the possibility of total commitment of resources unfeasible: this branch needed an “estimated reinforcement of 2600 soldiers” to guarantee a “sustained employment” of F16 fighters, P3C Orion surveillance planes, C130 Hercules transport and EH101 helicopters.
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