The Portuguese army has increased the number of personnel deployed to Slovakia under NATO to 156, with the Chief of the General Staff justifying this increase today on security grounds, stating that “conventional warfare has returned to Europe”.
“Over a two-year period, we have gone from 30 to around 160 military personnel, which demonstrates, on the one hand, Portugal’s commitment to NATO and, on the other, that the increase in personnel allows us to raise our force objectives “ said the Chief of the Army General Staff (CEME), General Eduardo Mendes Ferrão, in comments to Lusa.
He was speaking after the ceremony to present the National Standard to the 5th National Detached Force (5FND), held at the Santa Margarida Military Camp in Constância, in the region of Santarém, prior to their deployment to Slovakia, where they will join the Spanish-led Multinational Battlegroup as part of NATO’s enhanced surveillance activities.
Comprising 156 personnel, the force represents a reinforcement compared to previous rotations, now including an additional rifle platoon, an Army Police module and, from October, Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) and Forward Observer modules.
According to General Eduardo Mendes Ferrão, this detachment “reflects an evolution within this new paradigm”, manifested in the reinforcement of the contingent and the integration of new combat support capabilities to respond to a scenario of high-intensity conventional warfare.
The contingent operates with five Leopard 2A6 main battle tanks, 15 Pandur II 8×8 armoured vehicles and four VAMTAC ST5 tactical armoured vehicles, whilealso maintaining geospatial intelligence capabilities and unmanned aerial systems in theatre, including the operational testing of equipment developed by Portuguese industry.
According to the general, international missions also provide an opportunity to accelerate the modernisation of the Army, enabling the validation of new technologies, tactics and procedures, which are subsequently incorporated into the training, doctrine and re-equipment of the land forces.
“Where we see real technical, tactical and technological progress is when we deploy [the forces],” he stated, arguing that the lessons learnt in operations contribute to the transformation of the Army.
In his speech, the CEME also argued that training of forces must be seen as a process of continuous adaptation, enabling the rapid incorporation of lessons learnt from current theatres of operations.
“Conventional combat has returned to Europe. High-intensity, large-scale combat is no longer a distant concept. It is a reality we observe on a daily basis,” he said, maintaining that the new security context demands greater readiness and preparedness from the forces.
Mendes Ferrão also emphasised that, since 2014, the Army has been progressively strengthening Portugal’s participation in international deterrence and collective defence missions, noting that this trajectory demonstrates that Portugal is “a participatory, active and reliable ally”, prepared to carry out “the most demanding missions”.
In this context, he argued that Portugal’s participation on Europe’s eastern flank also constitutes a direct contribution to national security.
“By contributing to the security of NATO’s eastern flank, we are also contributing to Portugal’s security,” he said.
In addition to the reinforced presence in Slovakia, the Army maintains forces deployed in Romania, also within the framework of NATO, and in the Central African Republic, which is part of a United Nations mission.
The Portuguese force has been included in the Multinational Battlegroup in Slovakia since 2022, one of the battlegroups created by NATO to strengthen its forward presence, deterrence and collective defence on the Alliance’s eastern flank following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
source: LUSA