Portuguese Armed Forces

[James1978]

Portuguese Armed Forces

[James1978]

Portuguese Army
By Bronquites


FOPE - Força Operacional Permanente do Exército (Army Permanent Operational Force)
+ Special Forces Command
+ Independent Airborne Brigade
+ Mechanized Brigade
+ Intervention Brigade
+ FAG - Força de Apoio Geral (General Support Force)

Special Forces Command (Lisbon):
* Special Operations Instruction Center (CIOE - Centro de Instrução de Operações Especiais) (Lamego)
* Commando Troop Center (Centro de Tropas Comandos) (Queluz)
* Army Commandos Battalion (Mafra) *1
* Special Operations Unit (Lamego) *2
* Navy DAE (Alfeite) *3
* Combat Divers Detachment (Destacamento de Mergulhadores Sapadores) (Alfeite) *4
* Air Force Forward Air Control Unit (Montijo) *5

*1 - Two Operational Companies and one Instruction Company.
*2 - Battalion size. This unit is usually known as the Lamego Rangers. SAS/US Special Forces equivalent. One platoon earmarked for operations with NATO Allied Mobile Force (Land)
*3 - DAE: Destacamento de Acções Especiais - Special Actions Detachment. Transferred from the Marines. SBS equivalent.
*4 - Commando Hubert equivalent
*5 - Equipped with AM General HMMWV M1165 4x4 FAC vehicle w/MG3 or M2HB



Independent Airborne Brigade (Rapid Reaction, Light Infantry Brigade) (Polígono Militar de Tancos) *1
* Pathfinders Company (Companhia de Precursores Aeroterrestres)
* 1st Para Battalion (Infantry Regiment 15 / RI15) *2
* 2nd Para Battalion (Infantry Regiment 10 / RI10) *2
* 3rd Para Battalion (Infantry Regiment 3 / RI3) *2
* Field Artillery Group (from Artillery Regiment 4 / RA4) *3
* Recon Squadron (from Cavalry Regiment 3 / RC3) *4
* Engineering Platoon (from Engineering Regiment 1 / RE1)
* Anti-Air Battery (from Anti-Air Artillery Regiment 1 / RAAA1) *5
* Supply and Support Battalion (from Infantry Regiment 15 / RI15)
* Army Light Aviation Group (Grupo de Aviação Ligeira do Exército / GALE) *6

*1 - Polígono Militar de Tancos (Tancos Military Polygon), the second largest military installation in Portugal and home to the units of the Airborne Brigade. As part of a larger restructuring process the 3 Para battalions are relocated to barracks in this installation. The Aviation Group is also based here.
*2 - Para Battalions organized in the following manner:
1x Command & Support Company with recon platoon (Land Cruiser with M2HB, 40mm AGL or 7.62 MG3), Anti-Tank platoon (Land Cruiser with MILAN II), 81mm (L16A2) Mortar platoon, Sniper section, Battlefield Surveillance Section, Supply & Transport section.
3x Para Companies with 3 Rifle platoons (G36 some w/ AG36 and HK21LSW/M60MMG), Mortar platoon (3x Soltan 60mm mortar) and Weapons Platoon (AT-4/M2HB).
*3 - Equipped with L119 Light Gun 105mm howitzers or Tampella 120mm mortars.
*4 - 36 M-11 VBL with 18 MILAN and 18 .50 M2HB. According to some sources the Recon Squadron would use the V-200/V-150 vehicles but the Army website only mentions the Panhard M-11 VBL, so I'll stick to the Army spec until further info appears.
*5 - Equipped with Stinger MANPADS and Avenger. Check NOTES for more information.
*6 - Referred in the rest of the document as AvGroup. Check NOTES for more information.



Mechanized Brigade (Heavy Armored Brigade) (Campo Militar de Santa Margarida) *1
* 1st Tank Group (Battalion sized unit) *2
* 2nd Tank Group (Battalion sized unit) see *2
* 1st Mechanized Infantry Battalion - *3
* 2nd Mechanized Infantry Battalion - see *3
* Field Artillery Group *4
* Recon Squadron *5
* Engineering Company *6
* Anti-Air Battery *7
* Supply and Support Battalion
* Detachment of the AvGroup

*1 - Campo Militar de Santa Margarida (Santa Margarida Military Camp) is the largest military installation in Portugal and home to the units of the Mechanized Brigade.
*2 - 72 tanks overall, from an order of over 100 units (per NATO Tank FactFile)
Tank Groups organized in the following manner:
1x Command Company with M577 command post vehicle and M113 (unknown variant and function)
3x Tank Squadrons each with 12 Leo2 divided in 3 platoons
*3 - 108 Dardo overall, with 54 Dardo per Battalion and 18 per Company.
MechInf Btn organized in the following manner:
1x Command & Support Company with M557 command post vehicle, M125 Mortar carrier, V-150 Commando w/90mm cannon.
3x MechInf Companies with 18 Dardo IFV (25mm + TOW). Infantry is equipped with G36 (some w/ AG36) and HK21LSW/M60MMG, Mortar platoon (3x Soltan 60mm mortar) and Weapons Platoon (AT-4).
*4 - Field Artillery is composed of 3x batteries of 6 M109A5s with support vehicles. Older A2s are retired to war-stocks.
*5 - AML60s are replaced with Dardo IFV.
*6 - AVLB and M88ARV. Leo2 based replacement being studied.
*7 - Check NOTES.



Intervention Brigade (Light Infantry Brigade) (Coimbra) *1
* 1st Infantry Battalion (Infantry Regiment 13 / RI13) *2 *3
* 2nd Infantry Battalion (Infantry Regiment 14 / RI14) see *2 *3
* 3rd Infantry Battalion (Infantry Regiment 19 / RI19) see *2 *3
* Field Artillery Group (from Artillery Regiment 5 / RA5) *4
* Recon Squadron (from Cavalry Regiment 6 / RC6) *5
* Engineering Company (from from Engineering Regiment 3 / RE3)
* Anti-Air Battery (from Anti-Air Artillery Regiment 1 / RAAA1) *6
* Supply and Support Battalion
* Detachment of the AvGroup *7

*1 - Headquarters in Coimbra and major installations in the city outskirts, concentrating on one location the three Inf Btn and Arty Group that were spread across northern Portugal.
*3 - Infantry Battalions organized in the following manner:
1x Command & Support Company with recon platoon (LandCruiser with M2HB, 40mm AGL and 7.62 MG3), Anti-Tank platoon (LandCruiser with MILAN II), Sniper section, Supply & Transport section.
3x Rifle Companies with 3 Rifle platoons (G3A4 some w/ HK79 and HK21LSW/M60MMG), Mortar platoon (3x Soltan 60mm mortar) and Weapons Platoon (84mm Carl Gustav/M2HB).*3 - 1st Infantry Battalion equipped with refurbished M113 APCs, 2nd and 3rd with Chaimite V-200 wheeled APC.
*4 - Equipped with L119 Light Gun 105mm howitzers or Tampella 120mm mortars.
*5 - One of the units composing the IntBrig was what we call the Grupo de AutoMetralhadoras (closest I can think of in English is an Armored Car platoon with mortar capabilities). Equipped with V-150 Commando w/ 90mm gun, V-200 Chaimite wheeled APC (MG3/M2HB), Chaimite V-600 w/ 81mm mortar and V-700 with HOT/Swingfire. I decided to combine this unit with the Recon squadron and give the IntBrig a little extra punch.
*6 - Equipped with Stinger MANPADS and Avenger. Check NOTES for more information.
*7 - Check NOTES for more information.



FAG - Força de Apoio Geral (General Support Force) *1
* Anti-Air Artillery Regiment 1 (Queluz) *2
* Military Police Squadron (Lancers Regiment 2) (Lisbon) *3
* Civilian-Military General Cooperation Company (CMGCC) (Engineering Regiment 1)
* General Support Engineering Company (Engineering Regiment 1 and Engineering Regiment 3) *4
* HUMINT Team (from the Military Intelligence and Security Center)
* PsyOps Team (from the Military Intelligence and Security Center)
* Bridging Company (from Engineering School) *5
* NBC Defense Company (from Engineering School) *5
* EOD Group (from Engineering School) *5
* General Support Communications Company (from the Communications School)
* Electronic Warfare Company (from the Communications School)
* Services and Resupply Company (from the School of Services) *6
* Transport Company (from the Transports Regiment) *6
* Maintenance Company (from the Maintenance Regiment) *6
* Field Hospital Unit (from Military Hospital personnel) *6
* Geographic Support Unit (from Army Geographic Institute).

*1 - The General Support Force is a group of operational units designed to provide combat and general support to the Major Army Units (MAU).
*2 - As seen on the MAUs above, the AAAR1 provides forces for all 3 brigades.
*3 - Lancers Regiment 2 provide MP squadrons to the MAU and has a secondary role as augmentation to the civilian police forces in Government and Military locations in the capital.
*4 - Framework unit from which the EngReg 1 and 3 can augment the deployed engineering units. During peacetime the forces are part of the CMGCC and assist in civilian catastrophes (forest fires, floods, land slides, etc).
*5 - In wartime the Engineering School forms a battalion sized unit with the units seen above and deploys to assist the MAUs as needed. During peacetime it deploys, if required, to assist civilian firefighters or police forces.
*6 - These are the rear echelon logistics units that keep everybody else fed, loaded and fueled.


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AUTHOR NOTES:
* The OTL long awaited G3 replacement (the G36 was the most preferred option) might actually come trough in TLW. Not all units are equipped with the G36, so the G3 soldiers on.
* Regarding the Libya operation in progress, I expect that the units involved there are from the Airborne Brigade rather than the Marines. If the Marines are the unit involved this means that there is no LPD to take the Leos2 of the Mech Brigade to Italy and we must use merchant ships to take us there further delaying our arrival.
* In OTL the Army is spread everywhere with each district capital being home to at least one regiment. This obviously leads to a large dispersal of personnel and material since units belonging to the same brigade might be quartered in northern Portugal and the material being stored in some barracks or depot hundreds of KMs away. This scheme assumes massive reorganization in the late-80s/early-90s (actually proposed but never implemented (not enough money being the usual excuse)).
* The OTL Pandur 2 is nowhere near production on TLW so I chose the Italian Dardo as a replacement for the M113 in the IFV and recon roles, everything else (mortar, ambulance, command post, etc) is still M113 variants. Given that Pandur in OTL is being built in Portugal, it isn't that far a stretch to say that the Dardo couldn't be produced under license. And it keeps communality with the Italian Army units we're supposed to support.
* The Chaparral is useless, like the Rheinmetall twin 20mm, and with the very real likelihood of the army being deployed the system is retired and the money is released for the acquisition of NASAMS and Avenger (perhaps in cooperation with Spain - to try and keep the cost down) to equip the Mech Brigade.
* Given that the Mech Brigade is attached to the Italian III Corps, and that the Portuguese Army participated in NATO exercises in northeastern Italy, it might be a good idea to organize some kind of POMCUS in Italy so that the brigade takes less than a month to be ready to go into action.
* The Aviation Group is equipped with a mixture of old and new equipment. Based in Tancos the AvGroup flies Alouettes, refurbished Pumas and the few NH-90s that have been delivered so far. The Army-wide responsibilities of Group have split it almost down the middle, with the NH-90s supporting the Paras, refurbished Pumas and Alouettes flying with the MechBrig and the Intervention Brigade getting the short end of the stick and being left with the few Alouettes that are not used elsewhere for liaison and light transport duties.

[James1978]

Portuguese Air Force

TO BE ADDED

[James1978]

Portuguese Navy

TO BE ADDED

[James1978]

SPACE RESERVED

[James1978]

SPACE RESERVED