The Ministry of Defense of Portugal has announced that it is preparing a new package of military aid for Ukraine, which will include the delivery of 14 additional M113 armored personnel carriers and a battery of 105 mm howitzers. The exact number and type of howitzers are not specified, as the Portuguese army has two types of artillery systems – the L119 (17 units as of 2022) and the M101A1 (21 units as of 2022) in its arsenal.
Up until this point, it was known that Portugal has provided several packages of military assistance to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, including approximately 3 Leopard 2A6 tanks, 45 M113 armored personnel carriers and 7 M577command post carriers. Therefore, Portugal has supplied Ukraine with the equivalent of a tank platoon on Western main battle tanks and 2 mechanized battalions equipped with M113 vehicles.
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Indeed, considering Portugal’s limited capabilities, it is quite a significant contribution. The land forces of Portugal consist of only 13,500 personnel, organized into two mechanized brigades and one airborne brigade.
Additionally, it is worth noting that Portugal has also joined the aviation coalition for Ukraine with its F-16 aircraft. Although Portugal cannot provide fighter jets due to their limited quantity, they are ready to offer their training facilities to train Ukrainian pilots. Portugal currently has 26 F-16AM aircraft and 4 training-combat F-16BM aircraft.
However, in October 2022, after the Ramstein meeting, Portugal expressed its readiness to transfer 6 Ka-32A11VS transport helicopters to Ukraine.
At first glance, it may have seemed like a proposition of little value since these helicopters had not been operational for several years due to the lack of technical maintenance caused by Western sanctions against russia.
However, looking at it from a different perspective, the Ka-32 aircraft was developed as a civilian version of the naval Ka-27 helicopter. It is possible that the Portuguese gift should be considered in such context – dismantling the non-operational Ka-32 helicopters for spare parts for the Ka-27 aircraft.
Indeed, it is worth recalling a statement that was made at the end of 2021 – the Ukrainian Navy expressed its intention to finally replace the Soviet-era Ka-27 helicopters, primarily due to the constant shortage of spare parts.
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