Portugal defense technology and manufacturing development

Portugal is developing its capacity as a strategic center for defense technology, specifically in the realms of unmanned systems and military experimentation.

Initial developments focused on expanding drone manufacturing through international partnerships. The Portuguese company Sketchpixel, via its division Keydef, partnered with India’s Flying Wedge Defence and Aerospace to manufacture drones in Portugal, aiming to export Indian-origin systems to global markets. Additionally, the Ukrainian-founded company UForce established operations in Amadora to produce civilian and military unmanned vehicles, including surface naval drones.

This industrial growth has been complemented by Portugal’s emergence as a field laboratory for defense experimentation. The country has hosted significant activities, such as the ARTEX exercise, which served as the first European operational experimentation campaign conducted by the European Defence Agency in Portugal. Due to its diverse maritime and land domains, Portugal is being positioned as a central European hub for testing drones, electronic warfare, and autonomous systems, integrating military branches, industry, and academia into a national defense testing network.