Beja, Portugal, Sept. 18, 2025 (Lusa) - Portugal's defence minister, Nuno Melo, highlighted on Thursday Portugal's partnership with Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer in the KC-390 military aircraft project as "very advantageous", with the country generating profits.
"Portugal is part of the construction of the KC-390 and is also the beneficiary of the profit, which shows that it is a very good partnership, very advantageous, and it has been demonstrated that this aircraft is increasingly requested and wanted by many allied countries," Nuno Melo said.
With Sweden's Defence Minister, Pål Jonson, at his side, the minister was speaking to journalists at the end of a visit they made to the 506 Squadron of the Portuguese Air Force (FAP), which operates the KC-390s, at Air Base 11 in Beja.
Sweden's acquisition of four KC-390 aircraft, announced in April, is expected to generate around €45 million for Portugal, Embraer's partner country in the development of these aircraft.
"The focus of this visit was the KC-390 and the collaboration we can do in logistics, maintenance and training," said the Swedish minister, highlighting the "marvellous opportunities" of the partnership with the Portuguese.
Speaking to journalists, the Portuguese Defence Minister said that during the meeting with his Swedish counterpart, the dialogue between the two was not limited to the KC-390 aircraft and involved multiple areas, such as "new geostrategic needs".
Nuno Melo pointed out that the "new geopolitical context" requires "ever greater joint participation" between allied countries, noting the strategic partnership with the Swedes.
"There are countless areas, in the air, on land and at sea, in which the two countries can look to the future with advantage for the development of industries, creating jobs, especially in highly technological areas," he said.
When asked by journalists if Sweden was trying to sell Swedish-made Gripen fighter jets to replace the FAP's F-16s, he replied that this replacement process "has not begun in Portugal".
"This discussion will have to take place in due course, because all equipment in the Armed Forces has a beginning, a middle and an end of life," he emphasised, stressing that when Portugal decides to replace the F-16s the free world is the market.
The Swedish minister noted that relations with Portugal are changing, pointing out that about 19 months ago, they were partner countries; since the country entered into NATO, they have been allies, and now, with the purchase of the Embraer aircraft, they are together in the "KC-390 Club".
"We are looking for partnerships to advance defence industrial production," he said, announcing that the Swedish company Saab and OGMA - Indústria Aeronáutica de Portugal signed a memorandum of understanding today.
The Swedish minister emphasised that Sweden is exposed to "Russia's illegal aggression against Ukraine", and also warned of the Russians' movements in the Baltic Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.
"It's something that brought us together. We talked about protecting critical infrastructure at sea and also about our support for Ukraine," he emphasised.
Regarding Sweden's increased investment in defence, he pointed out that a few days ago, the budget was presented, increasing investment in this area to 3.5% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2023.
'So next year we'll be at 2.8% of GDP and we'll be doing the biggest rearmament of Sweden since the 1950s, because of Russia's illegal aggression in Ukraine,' he added.
During this visit to Air Base 11, the defence ministers of both countries had the opportunity to try out the KC-390 aircraft simulator, the only one in Europe, and visited the maintenance workshops for this military aircraft.
SM/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
