Editing Portugal (section)

=== Military ===
{{Main|Portuguese Armed Forces}}
[[File:The Portuguese navy frigate NRP Bartolomeu Dias (F-333) (cropped) 01.jpg|thumb|right|[[Portuguese Navy]] frigate NRP Bartolomeu Dias]]
The armed forces have three branches: [[Portuguese Navy|Navy]], [[Portuguese Army|Army]] and [[Portuguese Air Force|Air Force]], commanded by the [[Armed Forces General Staff (Portugal)|Portuguese Armed Forces General Staff]]. They serve primarily as a self-defence force whose mission is to protect the territorial integrity of the country but can also be used in offensive missions in foreign territories.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Poderes e Competências |url=https://anibalcavacosilva.arquivo.presidencia.pt/comandantesupremo/?idc=301&idi=91150 |access-date=30 December 2023 |website=anibalcavacosilva.arquivo.presidencia.pt |language=pt |archive-date=30 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231230115133/https://anibalcavacosilva.arquivo.presidencia.pt/comandantesupremo/?idc=301&idi=91150 |url-status=live }}</ref> In recent years, the [[Portuguese Armed Forces]] have carried out several [[NATO]] and [[European Union]] military missions in various territories, namely in [[Afghanistan]], [[Iraq]], [[Lebanon]], [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]], [[Kosovo]], [[Mali]], [[Central African Republic]], [[Somalia]], [[Mozambique]] and [[East Timor]]. As of 2023, the three branches numbered 24.000 military personnel. [[List of countries by military expenditures|Portuguese military expenditure]] in 2023 was more than 4 billion US$, representing 1.48 per cent of GDP.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Defence Expenditure of NATO Countries (2014-2023) |url=https://www.nato.int/nato_static_fl2014/assets/pdf/2023/7/pdf/230707-def-exp-2023-en.pdf |access-date=30 December 2023 |archive-date=15 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230715092752/https://www.nato.int/nato_static_fl2014/assets/pdf/2023/7/pdf/230707-def-exp-2023-en.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Army  of 11,000 personnel comprises three brigades and other small units. An [[Portuguese Intervention Brigade|Infantry Brigade]] (mainly equipped with [[Pandur II]] [[Armoured personnel carrier|APC]], [[M114 155 mm howitzer|M114 howitzer]] and [[MIM-72 Chaparral]] [[Air defence|air defence systems]]), a [[Portuguese Mechanized Brigade|Mechanized Brigade]] (mainly equipped with [[Leopard 2|Leopard 2 A6]] tanks and [[M113|M113A2]] APC) and a [[Portuguese Rapid Reaction Brigade|Rapid Reaction Brigade]] (consisting of [[Portuguese Paratroopers|Paratroopers]], [[Portuguese Army Commandos|Commandos]], [[Special Operations Troops Centre|Rangers]] and [[4th Artillery Regiment (Portugal)|Artillery Regiment]]). The Navy (7,000 personnel, of which 900 are [[Portuguese Marines|marines]]), the world's oldest surviving naval force, has five frigates, two corvettes, two submarines, and 20 oceanic patrol vessels. The Air Force (6,000 personnel) has the [[Lockheed F-16 Fighting Falcon|Lockheed F-16M Fighting Falcon]] as the main combat aircraft.

In addition to the three branches of the armed forces, there is the [[National Republican Guard (Portugal)|National Republican Guard]], a security force subject to military law and organisation ([[gendarmerie]]) comprising 25,000 personnel. This force is under the authority of both the Defence and the Interior Ministry. It has provided detachments for participation in international operations in Iraq and East Timor. The United States maintains a military presence with 770 troops in the [[Lajes Air Base]] at [[Terceira Island]], in the Azores. The [[Allied Joint Force Command Lisbon]] (JFC Lisbon) is one of the three main subdivisions of [[NATO]]'s [[Allied Command Operations]].