With 87% of its output exported, a market value of €2.1 billion ($2.5 billion), and responsible for 18,500 high-skilled jobs, Portugal’s aeronautics, space and defence (ASD) sector is a cornerstone of the national economy.
The industry is growing fast and is above all outward-looking, competitive, and collaborative. Increasing numbers of big aerospace players, such as Airbus, Embraer, Lockheed Martin and Saab, are reaping the rewards of collaborating with Portuguese companies.
At the heart of its success is Portugal’s AED cluster, which plays a key role in enhancing the value of national companies, promoting advanced technological capabilities, and strengthening links between the country’s sector and industries around the world.
Over the past two years, AED’s activities have been supported by initiatives such as the Global Connect project. Its purpose has been to collectively create value in the sector through innovation and internationalization and ultimately strengthen the competitiveness of the national economy.
The approach has helped to position Portugal as a reliable and technically capable partner, able to deliver the requirements of mature and demanding international markets.
As part of the effort to raise the profile of Portugal’s ASD sector, AED has been participating in leading air shows and other industry events around the world, including in the UK, Germany, Italy and the United Arab Emirates.
This global presence has enabled the country to promote the technological and industrial capabilities of Portuguese companies; establish high-level contacts with potential international partners; and position Portugal as an innovative and competitive player, aligned with global trends.
They have also helped AED Cluster and Portuguese companies collect strategic intelligence on international markets, identify emerging technological trends, decide on investment priorities, and single out opportunities for integrating into international value chains.
AED has used this body of knowledge to set its own priorities and prepare the nation’s companies to have a more effective and competitive global presence.
The organisation’s work has contributed to long-term institutional and business relationships, creating the conditions for future projects and cooperation with international partners.
The relationships it has helped foster have resulted in protocols and memoranda of understanding with national trade bodies and some of the biggest names in the industry. They include France’s GIFAS and Italy’s AIAD, as well as companies such as Airbus, Saab and Lockheed Martin. Several cooperation protocols have also been established with institutional entities, such as the Portuguese Navy.
More informally, it has opened channels of dialogue between members of Portugal’s ASD ecosystem and a range of international stakeholders, boosting the sector’s visibility, credibility, and recognition around the world.
This regular exposure to international markets has been crucial in Portugal’s development of new strategic capabilities and bringing its industry and its capabilities into a closer alignment with the real needs of external markets.
AED is recognised for its dynamic and results-oriented approach. Recent initiatives with France and Italy, for instance, have created new opportunities for European collaboration and the ability of Portuguese companies to access complementary markets.
The organisation’s role as a key interlocutor between Portugal and industries in the rest of Europe and beyond has helped the nation – with a population of around 10.7 million – punch above its weight in the global market.
The Global Connect project has been key to much of the success, and was made possible by funding from COMPETE 2030 and the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund, a government project to support a greener and more digital economy, and Portugal 2030, which counts on a €23 billion allocation between Portugal and the European Commission to stimulate and develop the Portuguese economy between 2021 and 2027.
Global Connect has helped strengthen the industry’s competitiveness by supporting AED Cluster’s participation in international events,thus contributing to the collection and analysis of market information to be subsequently shared universally and also disseminating the skills of Portuguese SMEs with a view to increasing their access to foreign markets.
According to AED president José Neves, there is still potential for further success. “The national aerospace sector now has a solid foundation of skills, knowledge, and industrial capacity,” he says.
“The role of AED Cluster Portugal is to transform this potential into concrete opportunities, promoting internationalisation, cooperation, and the integration of national companies in the right markets. Projects such as Global Connect are important tools for consolidating this path and establishing Portugal as a trusted partner in the international context.”
