ISTANBUL - Portugal's latest Military Planning Law (LPM) has received approval from the government, but much remains ahead for the Portuguese armed forces as they struggle to maintain and modernize capabilities after years of austerity. With a budget equaling just 1.1 percent of GDP, the Portuguese military is hoping that the latest Ministry of National Defense LPM plans receive approval by the country's Military Commission and parliament as a rejection would mean further fiscal dieting and force downsizings.
Already the Portuguese Army is putting plans in motion to sell off or rent as many as 60 properties (barracks, forts, airfields and military hospitals) in order to recoup as much as EUR170 million ($192 million) in order to fund its own modernization programs. Further efficiencies area already in motion as the government announced on January 22 that the armed forces would undergo a 10 percent reduction in personnel, bring the total force size down to 31,560 soldiers.
In light of the EUR78 billion ($88.5 billion) bailout program Portugal required as means to stave off default the country has been tasked with trimming its budget deficit down to 3 percent of GDP by 2015. As such, defense spending - long a peripheral concern in Lisbon - has regularly been subject to budget freezes and/or cuts as successive governments have sought to downsize the armed forces toward a smaller joint, modular, and technologically advanced military.
But to achieve such a military investment in equipment and training is required and there the government has fallen short.
The latest Military Planning Law aims to fix that by investing EUR960 million ($1.089 billion) towards armament programs through 2018, about EUR240 million ($272 million) annually. The LPM sets the course for the armed forces over the next 12 years, with reviews to be conducted every four years prior to 2026.
The LPM was drafted in line with the so-called "Defense Reform 2020" agenda in mind.
The aim of Defense Reform 2020 is to create a new, sustainable and efficient model armed force that is capable of being supported at the current budgetary earmark standard of 1-1.2 percent of GDP. The latter aspect presents a realistic notion of where the defense allocation benchmark will remain for the foreseeable future. The goal is to realign investment tendencies from the current 80 percent allocated wholly towards personnel to a more sustainable model that calls for a 60:25:15 personnel/operations/capitalization ratio.
The future force will consist of three main components: the Immediate Reaction Force (IRF), the Standing Defense Forces (SDF) and the Deployable Modular Forces.
The Immediate Reaction Force will present a high-readiness force capable of tackling disaster relief and natural/manmade crises in Portugal. The Standing Defense Force will be responsible for homeland and territorial defense. The Deployable Modular Force will be trained and equipped to operate alongside allied forces within UN-, NATO- and/or EU-led missions.
On the procurement agenda are plans to provide the Portuguese Army with 4x4 light armored vehicles (to equip the Immediate Reaction Force) and new small arms, the navy with two additional Viana do Castelo-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Air Force with upgrades and modernizations to its F-16 and C-130H fleets, amongst others.
While hardly overly-ambitious, the armed forces have been left hoping that mere upgrades and service-life extensions of existing equipment will improve readiness levels eroded by years of budgetary cutbacks.
Stanching the bleeding is but a first step towards achieving the smaller, modular, technologically-advanced military Lisbon seeks. The latest LPM, combined with Defense Reform 2020, puts into motion this process and presents a realistic, achievable goal for the Portuguese Defense Ministry and armed forces.
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