Belgium invests 50 million euros in an Ammunition Factory in Portugal
Defence News Europe - Belgium is investing 50 million euros for an Ammunition Factory in Portugal, according to a statement by Portugal´s Ministry of National Defence dated September 29, 2026. Here is how Portugal is recovering the country´s production capacity of small arms and ammunition:
Portugal and Belgium have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for a strategic partnership aimed at the joint purchase, production, and supply of small arms and ammunition. The agreement foresees the installation of an ammunition factory in Portugal, with production scheduled to begin in 2029, within the framework of SAFE, the European Union's funding program for the military re-equipment of Member States.
The production of small arms and ammunition in Portugal is expected to meet the needs of the Armed Forces and security forces, and also allow for supply to other European countries. The new unit will be developed in partnership with the Belgian company FN Herstal, which already has a factory in Viana do Castelo. The expected locations are either Alcochete or Viana do Castelo.
"We don't just want to buy ammunition, we want to produce it," - Portugal´s Minister of National Defence, Nuno Melo, during the signing ceremony, held at the former Smokeless Powder Factory in Chelas, Lisbon.
Recovering the production capacity of small arms and ammunition in Portugal:
The project aims to recover Portugal´s production capacity of small arms and ammunition and to strengthen the country´s Technological and Industrial Base in the Defense sector:
"We want to ensure that we return to Portugal a set of capabilities that Portugal once possessed" - Portugal´s Minister of National Defence, Nuno Melo.
Portugal´s Minister of National Defence, Nuno Melo, presided on September 29th, 2026, over the signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding between Portugal and Belgium for a strategic partnership aimed at the joint purchase, production and supply of small-caliber weapons and ammunition (NATO standard), within the framework of the European SAFE instrument. This agreement includes the intention to establish, through a joint venture, an ammunition factory in Portugal, which is estimated to create up to 100 jobs, representing an investment of 50 million Euros. Its location is still under analysis. The event took place at the former Chelas Smokeless Powder Factory in Lisbon.
The MOU document, that is the initiating element of this bilateral strategic state-to-state partnership, was signed by the Deputy Director-General of Armaments and Heritage of National Defence, Rear Admiral António Mateus, and by the Belgian Director-General of Armaments, Lieutenant General Bernard Phaleg.
This agreement opens the possibility of capacity-building for components, including industrial cooperation, notably the creation of a small-caliber ammunition factory to be built in Portugal by 2029, through a partnership between the Portuguese company IdD Portugal Defence, SA and the Belgian company FN Herstal.
The signing of the agreement at the old factory – founded in 1898 – symbolizes the current investment cycle in the reindustrialization of Portugal and the strengthening of the country´s Technological and Industrial Defense Base, through the development of national capabilities for the production of goods whose supply is deficient in Europe and in the world, in a geopolitical context where production autonomy and the availability of munitions constitute a strategic imperative.
