Portuguese Armed Forces - Current Strength

Current Strength

Country financial problems and persistent lack of political will by the Portuguese governments and Defense Ministers has led to an incapacitated Armed Forces. Its professionalization led to an overall reduction of 30,000 men on all three branches; the Portuguese military holds the 72nd position in the international comparison in terms of manpower.

Currently the Portuguese military forces number 37,400 with the majority of the manpower allocated to the Army although its Chief of Staff, General José Ramalho, has already stated that more men are needed.

Recent defence policy has assumed that most considerable operations would be undertaken under NATO, UN, or European Union mandates. East-Timor, Kosovo and Afghanistan are all examples; the last large scale military action of the Portuguese Armed Forces entering alone was the overseas conflict (1961–1974). Nonetheless Portugal's Armed Forces have conducted peace-enforcing and humanitarian missions on their own in Guinea-Bissau (1990, 1998, and 1999) and Angola (1992).

All international missions assigned to the military have been fulfilled without limitations. A Military Programation Law (Lei de Programação Militar) was launched in 2002 to start the complete modernization of the Armed Forces; considerable reequipment of the military started in 2003, with Defense Minister Paulo Portas, who managed to acquire new helicopters (Army and Air Force), submarines, IFV (Army and Navy), frigates and naval patrol boats. Ironically one of the most important issues, the replacement of the light firearms, failed during his mandate due to the soldiers clinging onto their cheap and highly reliable Heckler & Koch G3's, made by INDEP (the Portuguese Military factory) in Portugal. The present government also started reequipment with the purchase of new battle tanks in early 2008, the Leopard 2A6 and new Armoured personnel carriers, Pandur II.