Portugal takes command of multinational rapid reaction force for the first time

Portugal, through the Mechanized Brigade, will assume command of a European Union Battlegroup (EUBG) for the first time, a multinational rapid reaction force ready to respond to international crises, a moment considered “historic” by the Army.

“It is, in fact, the first, and an international recognition, second, the national recognition of our capacity, but even more important, for the Army, is to recover the knowledge of the brigade echelon”, said today to Lusa the Chief of Staff of the Army (CEME), at the Santa Margarida Military Camp (CMSM), in Constância, (Santarém).

General Mendes Ferrão recalled that “this is what NATO is asking Portugal to do, to have a complete brigade, ready to be used” within the framework of that alliance.

Having noted that “for years” the Army has been “designing battalion and company level units”, the general pointed out the need to “work on the brigade level, ready to be used within the framework of that alliance, as, in fact, it has already done in the past” -

Mendes Ferrão was speaking at the end of a visit to the Taurus exercise, preparing to take command of an EUBG, a force that will be made up of around 1,500 soldiers from several countries.

“This is a force that is prepared within the scope of the European Union (EU) and embodies a strong commitment from Portugal, the Armed Forces and the Army, to strengthening the European military pillar of security and defense and is at the EU's disposal to carry out stabilization missions and crisis response operations, it is not a force for combat operations”, he noted.

The force is joint, integrating military personnel from the Army, Navy and Air Force, and also combined, because it includes contingents from Italy, Romania, Spain and France, with the CMSM serving as a training and certification center for some of the components of this force, and which will culminate in May with the Orion exercise, where the total integration of the EUBG forces and resources will be tested.

“As it is a joint and combined exercise, it gives us an increased capacity to operate with our allies, to operate with other branches, which is very important in today's times”, stressed Mendes Ferrão, having assured that the EUBG does not affect the commitments made with NATO.

“This commitment [to European security] in no way affects the other commitments that the Army has with NATO and the UN for other operations, namely with the force that we already have in Romania, a mechanized company and a special operations group, and also the force that we have in Slovakia, which currently has a platoon, with around 30 soldiers, and will grow in June, with around 120 soldiers”, he declared.

This, he stressed, “clearly demonstrates Portugal’s commitment, both to the European Union and NATO, but above all to the Portuguese interest and that of the Armed Forces in reinforcing its military response capacity within the scope of these two organizations, and, in this case, reinforcing the European pillar”.

The Taurus exercise, which involves 569 soldiers and 105 vehicles, is focused on command and control, that is, on the EUBG command post that Portugal will take over in July, with the force commanded by Brigadier General Luís Calmeiro, current commander of the Mechanized Brigade.

The EUBG will have a staff of around 1,500 soldiers, of which 1,100 are Portuguese, and will also include soldiers from Spain, France, Italy and Romania.

On July 1, 2025, Portugal assumes a readiness level of 30 days and, from January 1, 2026 to July 1, 2026, the force's readiness level will be 5 to 10 days with a view to its use if necessary, with General CEME highlighting the importance of the CMSM “as a hub for aggregating capabilities in the context of force readiness, a testing center and development of technological solutions in the context of defense, both nationally and internationally”.

“The first is human resources, and fortunately we are managing to reverse the cycle of decreasing personnel. The other challenge that arises has to do with re-equipment, both within the scope of the military programming law and now in this context of increasing defense spending, up to 2% of GDP,” he pointed out.

“The Army is very clear about its needs and has some critical capabilities that need to be reinforced as quickly as possible, in the area of ​​protection with anti-aircraft artillery, in the area of ​​fires, in renewing its field artillery capacity, in the area of ​​communications and information systems, and also in the area of ​​replacing armored vehicles,” he listed.

Asked to comment on the three years since the invasion of Ukraine, CEME said it “regretted the war” (…) a “very painful phenomenon for everyone” and affirmed its “unconditional support” for Kiev and said it “followed very closely what was happening there”.

“We have learned and introduced many lessons that, from a technical and tactical point of view, have been gathered during this conflict,” he concluded.

Portugal, through the Mechanized Brigade, will assume command of a European Union Battlegroup (EUBG) for the first time, a multinational rapid reaction force ready to respond to international crises, a moment considered “historic” by the Army.

“It is, in fact, the first, and an international recognition, second, the national recognition of our capacity, but even more important, for the Army, is to recover the knowledge of the brigade echelon”, said today to Lusa the Chief of Staff of the Army (CEME), at the Santa Margarida Military Camp (CMSM), in Constância, (Santarém).

General Mendes Ferrão recalled that “this is what NATO is asking Portugal to do, to have a complete brigade, ready to be used” within the framework of that alliance.

Having noted that “for years” the Army has been “designing battalion and company level units”, the general pointed out the need to “work on the brigade level, ready to be used within the framework of that alliance, as, in fact, it has already done in the past” -

Mendes Ferrão was speaking at the end of a visit to the Taurus exercise, preparing to take command of an EUBG, a force that will be made up of around 1,500 soldiers from several countries.

“This is a force that is prepared within the scope of the European Union (EU) and embodies a strong commitment from Portugal, the Armed Forces and the Army, to strengthening the European military pillar of security and defense and is at the EU's disposal to carry out stabilization missions and crisis response operations, it is not a force for combat operations”, he noted.

The force is joint, integrating military personnel from the Army, Navy and Air Force, and also combined, because it includes contingents from Italy, Romania, Spain and France, with the CMSM serving as a training and certification center for some of the components of this force, and which will culminate in May with the Orion exercise, where the total integration of the EUBG forces and resources will be tested.

“As it is a joint and combined exercise, it gives us an increased capacity to operate with our allies, to operate with other branches, which is very important in today's times”, stressed Mendes Ferrão, having assured that the EUBG does not affect the commitments made with NATO.

“This commitment [to European security] in no way affects the other commitments that the Army has with NATO and the UN for other operations, namely with the force that we already have in Romania, a mechanized company and a special operations group, and also the force that we have in Slovakia, which currently has a platoon, with around 30 soldiers, and will grow in June, with around 120 soldiers”, he declared.

This, he stressed, “clearly demonstrates Portugal’s commitment, both to the European Union and NATO, but above all to the Portuguese interest and that of the Armed Forces in reinforcing its military response capacity within the scope of these two organizations, and, in this case, reinforcing the European pillar”.

The Taurus exercise, which involves 569 soldiers and 105 vehicles, is focused on command and control, that is, on the EUBG command post that Portugal will take over in July, with the force commanded by Brigadier General Luís Calmeiro, current commander of the Mechanized Brigade.

The EUBG will have a staff of around 1,500 soldiers, of which 1,100 are Portuguese, and will also include soldiers from Spain, France, Italy and Romania.

On July 1, 2025, Portugal assumes a readiness level of 30 days and, from January 1, 2026 to July 1, 2026, the force's readiness level will be 5 to 10 days with a view to its use if necessary, with General CEME highlighting the importance of the CMSM “as a hub for aggregating capabilities in the context of force readiness, a testing center and development of technological solutions in the context of defense, both nationally and internationally”.

“The first is human resources, and fortunately we are managing to reverse the cycle of decreasing personnel. The other challenge that arises has to do with re-equipment, both within the scope of the military programming law and now in this context of increasing defense spending, up to 2% of GDP,” he pointed out.

“The Army is very clear about its needs and has some critical capabilities that need to be reinforced as quickly as possible, in the area of ​​protection with anti-aircraft artillery, in the area of ​​fires, in renewing its field artillery capacity, in the area of ​​communications and information systems, and also in the area of ​​replacing armored vehicles,” he listed.

Asked to comment on the three years since the invasion of Ukraine, CEME said it “regretted the war” (…) a “very painful phenomenon for everyone” and affirmed its “unconditional support” for Kiev and said it “followed very closely what was happening there”.

“We have learned and introduced many lessons that, from a technical and tactical point of view, have been gathered during this conflict,” he concluded.

Portugal, through the Mechanized Brigade, will assume command of a European Union Battlegroup (EUBG) for the first time, a multinational rapid reaction force ready to respond to international crises, a moment considered “historic” by the Army.

“It is, in fact, the first, and an international recognition, second, the national recognition of our capacity, but even more important, for the Army, is to recover the knowledge of the brigade echelon”, said today to Lusa the Chief of Staff of the Army (CEME), at the Santa Margarida Military Camp (CMSM), in Constância, (Santarém).

General Mendes Ferrão recalled that “this is what NATO is asking Portugal to do, to have a complete brigade, ready to be used” within the framework of that alliance.

Having noted that “for years” the Army has been “designing battalion and company level units”, the general pointed out the need to “work on the brigade level, ready to be used within the framework of that alliance, as, in fact, it has already done in the past” -

Mendes Ferrão was speaking at the end of a visit to the Taurus exercise, preparing to take command of an EUBG, a force that will be made up of around 1,500 soldiers from several countries.

“This is a force that is prepared within the scope of the European Union (EU) and embodies a strong commitment from Portugal, the Armed Forces and the Army, to strengthening the European military pillar of security and defense and is at the EU's disposal to carry out stabilization missions and crisis response operations, it is not a force for combat operations”, he noted.

The force is joint, integrating military personnel from the Army, Navy and Air Force, and also combined, because it includes contingents from Italy, Romania, Spain and France, with the CMSM serving as a training and certification center for some of the components of this force, and which will culminate in May with the Orion exercise, where the total integration of the EUBG forces and resources will be tested.

“As it is a joint and combined exercise, it gives us an increased capacity to operate with our allies, to operate with other branches, which is very important in today's times”, stressed Mendes Ferrão, having assured that the EUBG does not affect the commitments made with NATO.

“This commitment [to European security] in no way affects the other commitments that the Army has with NATO and the UN for other operations, namely with the force that we already have in Romania, a mechanized company and a special operations group, and also the force that we have in Slovakia, which currently has a platoon, with around 30 soldiers, and will grow in June, with around 120 soldiers”, he declared.

This, he stressed, “clearly demonstrates Portugal’s commitment, both to the European Union and NATO, but above all to the Portuguese interest and that of the Armed Forces in reinforcing its military response capacity within the scope of these two organizations, and, in this case, reinforcing the European pillar”.

The Taurus exercise, which involves 569 soldiers and 105 vehicles, is focused on command and control, that is, on the EUBG command post that Portugal will take over in July, with the force commanded by Brigadier General Luís Calmeiro, current commander of the Mechanized Brigade.

The EUBG will have a staff of around 1,500 soldiers, of which 1,100 are Portuguese, and will also include soldiers from Spain, France, Italy and Romania.

On July 1, 2025, Portugal assumes a readiness level of 30 days and, from January 1, 2026 to July 1, 2026, the force's readiness level will be 5 to 10 days with a view to its use if necessary, with General CEME highlighting the importance of the CMSM “as a hub for aggregating capabilities in the context of force readiness, a testing center and development of technological solutions in the context of defense, both nationally and internationally”.

“The first is human resources, and fortunately we are managing to reverse the cycle of decreasing personnel. The other challenge that arises has to do with re-equipment, both within the scope of the military programming law and now in this context of increasing defense spending, up to 2% of GDP,” he pointed out.

“The Army is very clear about its needs and has some critical capabilities that need to be reinforced as quickly as possible, in the area of ​​protection with anti-aircraft artillery, in the area of ​​fires, in renewing its field artillery capacity, in the area of ​​communications and information systems, and also in the area of ​​replacing armored vehicles,” he listed.

Asked to comment on the three years since the invasion of Ukraine, CEME said it “regretted the war” (…) a “very painful phenomenon for everyone” and affirmed its “unconditional support” for Kiev and said it “followed very closely what was happening there”.

“We have learned and introduced many lessons that, from a technical and tactical point of view, have been gathered during this conflict,” he concluded.