As part of the Portuguese business mission to the United States, this initiative brought together 22 Portuguese companies and various institutional representatives, as part of a programme aimed at strengthening bilateral relations and promoting industrial cooperation between Portugal and the United States.
The PT-US Defence Industry Days formed the centrepiece of this mission, complementing Portugal’s presence at the Sea-Air-Space exhibition and focusing on fostering meaningful contacts between the two ecosystems. The programme included institutional sessions, thematic presentations and bilateral meetings, creating a structured forum for developing partnerships and identifying opportunities for collaboration.
The opening session featured a speech by Portugal’s Ambassador to the United States, Francisco Duarte Lopes, followed by presentations from national organisations, including AED Cluster Portugal, AICEP and idD Portugal Defence. Strategic topics were also addressed, such as the aeronautics and defence ecosystem in Portugal, the REPMUS programme and US technological cooperation initiatives, notably the Foreign Comparative Testing Programme.
The programme also included business meetings between Portuguese and US companies, enabling the exploration of concrete opportunities for integration into transatlantic value chains, as well as strengthening the position of the national industry with international partners.
As part of the mission, institutional and corporate visits were carried out in the Washington, D.C. region, including a trip to the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, where an overview of the United States’ largest defence industrial cluster was presented, as well as a visit to Lockheed Martin’s facilities, providing direct contact with one of the sector’s leading global integrators. These initiatives helped to deepen understanding of the US market and its industrial dynamics.
The organisation of the PT–US Defense Industry Days helped to consolidate Portugal’s position within the US defence ecosystem, raising the profile of national capabilities and promoting the integration of Portuguese companies into global value chains. The initiative also enabled a deeper institutional dialogue and fostered industrial cooperation in a transatlantic context.
The PT–US Defence Industry Days were organised by the Portuguese Embassy in Washington, D.C., AED Cluster Portugal and AICEP – the Portuguese Agency for Investment and Foreign Trade – with the support of the Directorate-General for National Defence Policy, the Directorate-General for Armaments and National Defence Assets, the General Staff of the Armed Forces and idD Portugal Defence, in collaboration with US partner organisations.