Portuguese textile industry ‘dresses’ defence sector with ballistic vests and invisible camouflage

Ballistic vest technology, invisible military camouflage, nuclear protection suits and smart textiles capable of increasing soldiers’ safety, well-being and performance. These are some of the projects that Portuguese industry is developing for the defence sector, three of which are financed by the European Defence Fund (EDF) to the tune of €44.78 million. “The timing for Portugal to position itself in the defence sector is now”, argues Braz Costa, from the Portuguese Textile and Clothing Industry Technology Centre (Citeve).

Citeve is involved in several projects for the development and industrialisation of solutions for the defence sector with a strong textile component, ranging from uniforms, ballistic solutions and adaptive camouflage to advanced textile materials for use in drones, combat vehicles and aircraft, among others. Some of these projects are financed by the EDF, a fund that, until 2027, has around €8 billion to invest in various areas related to the European defence sector.

“These are highly technical and technological products, with much greater added value than fashion”, said the director of Citeve in statements to ECO/eRadar. Braz Costa has no doubt that this “is an opportunity for the textile industry’ and assures that ‘they do not want to let this opportunity slip away”.

One such project is Adaptive Camouflage For Soldiers and Vehicles (ACROSS), with a total budget of around €14.9 million funded by the EDF. ACROSS draws on the expertise of military forces, industry, universities and R&D centres, coordinated by Portugal through Citeve.

“We are talking about visual camouflage, but also camouflage from radars, infrared detectors and other radiation. It is camouflage in the full sense of the word. Not being seen by people or machines. The idea is to camouflage people, increase soldier safety on the battlefield with more effective systems, but also apply the system to vehicles, drones, among others”, explains António Braz Costa, director-general of the technology centre.

Finally, Citeve and the Institute of Science and Innovation in Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Engineering (INEGI) are involved in ARMETISS. With a budget of €22 million — €19.88 million of which is financed by the EDF — the project, which involves 20 partners from eight countries, brings together key players in military equipment, smart textiles and sensor systems. The consortium aims to create smart textiles that incorporate advanced technologies for location, body thermoregulation, physiological monitoring, and integrated energy conversion and distribution.

“The time for Portugal to position itself in the area of defence is now”

“Smart and multifunctional textiles are a new generation of materials that can serve the defence community given their ability to integrate new functionalities into military uniforms”, said the project manager at INEGI. “ARMETISS’ ambition is to unlock the potential of new technologies in personal protective equipment through an integrated system approach”, explains Tânia Pinto in a statement.

Braz Costa anticipates that during the first half of 2026, practical results from the two projects (ARMETISS and ECOBALLIFE) will already be available, highlighting that “the timing for Portugal to position itself in the defence sector is now”.

The director-general of Citeve assures that “Portugal has competitive advantages because it has the complete cluster”, although he considers that despite being a great opportunity, “it will not solve the problem of the Portuguese textile industry”, which is facing closures, revitalisation processes to renegotiate debt and redundancies.

Braz Costa also reveals that the technology centre is “making major investments to provide even more support to the industry, namely with the creation of specialised laboratories for the military sector”, without revealing the value of the investment.

The new laboratories and pilot facilities — for testing and prototyping solutions for military applications — will be operational in the first half of next year, assures the Director-General of Citeve.

Braz Costa also adds that part of the investment “of several million euros” includes the construction of a bunker and equipment for ballistic testing, not only on uniforms, but also on platforms, with a performance testing laboratory specifically geared towards the requirements of military applications, among others, still being implemented.

Without revealing details, António Braz Costa assures that Citeve “is currently in the final stages of setting up several consortia of champions for the defence sector”.

Northern textile company develops ballistic vest technology

But several companies are investing in the defence sector. This is the case with Axfilia. The textile company, which owns Confeções Guadalupe, has developed a Thermocore Heat Dispersion system for ballistic vests, in partnership with the American company AceLink, and is investing around half a million euros to adapt production to the defence sector over a period of three years. At this point, they have already digitised the factory floor, purchased some modules and a sewing machine to be better equipped.

“The client saw potential for product development in Portugal and asked us to study the casing of ballistic vests”, Maria José Machado, administrator of Axfilia, explains to ECO/eRadar, adding that “the purpose of this partnership with ACE Link Armor — a specialist in ballistic plates — was to improve the performance of the casing”.

The challenge was “to figure out how to make the ballistic vest more ergonomic, lighter and more comfortable without compromising performance”, says the manager, noting that “they managed to meet all the American company’s requirements”.

The technology, which took about a year to develop, prevents thermal stress for the user. “This ballistic vest was tested in a climate chamber with humans engaged in intense physical exercise, and the rates of improvement in thermal management, even with this lighter effect, increase dramatically”, says the administrator.

Although it is not yet working intensively in the defence sector, the manager predicts that “next year it will have an increasing market share” in this area.

Riopele has new military uniform projects in the pipeline

With know-how in the development of technical fabrics for the defence sector, Riopele has new military uniform development projects in the pipeline. The project, called 2XBlue – Soluções eXplore, eXtreme & Rescue Blue, is led by the Minho-based giant and involves four scientific and technological entities and 17 companies.

In conjunction with Citeve and other technological and industrial entities, the “new generation of uniforms will be available after the completion of the full cycle of research, development, validation and industrialisation provided for in the dual-use mini-agenda”, explains Albertina Reis, technical and materials director at Riopele, to ECO/eRadar.

The technical director estimates that the “first functional prototypes and pre-industrial solutions may be available between 18 and 24 months after the approval date”, emphasising that “availability for industrial production and adoption in an operational context will occur in phases, as the processes of technical validation, certification and adaptation to the specific requirements of different users are completed”.

Nuclear protection suit for the Portuguese army

Two years ago, Fibrenamics, an interface of the University of Minho, developed a nuclear, biological, chemical and radiological protective suit for the Portuguese Army. The Pluriprotech project, promoted by the Latino Group, also included Tintex Textiles, Sciencentris and two other platforms from the University of Minho: the Centre for Biological Engineering and 2C2T.

At the time, Major Wilson Antunes of the Portuguese Army pointed out that “the Pluriprotech Project was an innovative concept par excellence, as for the first time in Portugal a prototype of personal protective suits against biological, chemical and radiological agents was being developed that was 100% national”.

This is a readjustment of the industry at a time when Europe and the member countries of the European Union are focusing on strengthening defence capabilities, with increased budgets for purchases of all types of equipment, particularly those made in Europe, in an effort to “revitalise” the industry and, at the same time, reduce the Old Continent’s external dependence.

Portugal is no exception. The country has “formally joined” the SAFE programme to access €5.8 billion to strengthen the country’s capabilities, having increased the share for the defence sector via the State Budget.

For Riopele, the SAFE programme “represents a significant opportunity for the Portuguese textile industry, not only in terms of business growth, but also in terms of strengthening and accelerating its technical development”.

“Given our high level of technical and industrial expertise — recognised as one of the most advanced in Europe — I believe we are well positioned to establish ourselves as the partner of choice for the supply of uniforms and textile-based equipment”, says Albertina Reis, technical and materials director at Riopele.