“Airbus is committed to working with Portugal on future defence projects”

It employs 1,700 people in Portugal, generating an annual economic impact of over €100 million for the country. With the need to respond to the strengthening of its defence capabilities, Airbus sees this as an opportunity to reinforce its commitment to Portugal, Nathalie Hellard-Lambic, Airbus’s general manager in the country, told ECO/eRadar.

“Airbus is committed to working with Portugal on future defence projects”, the manager assures, in her first interview since taking on a leadership role for the company in the Portuguese market. In her view, “Portugal possesses the industrial base and talent required to anchor an even larger share of the European defence supply chain”, so “any future expansion will depend on long-term programmatic commitments and ongoing alignment with national defence authorities”.

Portugal “can reinforce its commitment to the collective ‘Buy European’ strategy by prioritising the acquisition of European platforms”, says the executive of the company, which is part of the Eurofighter consortium, one of the bidders for the sale of future fighter jets to the Portuguese Air Force – a process in which it faces competition from Lockheed Martin’s US-made F-35s from Lockheed Martin or the Gripen from SAAB.

In this context, Airbus has already signed a memorandum of understanding with the AED Cluster to explore potential partnerships with Portuguese industry. “We are currently in the process of visiting and holding meetings with the Portuguese companies and institutions we have identified. To date, we have established contact with a total of 14 local entities, spanning various sectors of activity, from national champions to medium-sized companies”, says Nathalie Hellard-Lambic.

This week, the Eurofighter programme organised its first Industry Day in Lisbon, bringing together key operators from the European defence programme with national companies to “identify new opportunities for collaboration”.

In Santo Tirso, where the company already has 450 employees producing panels for the A320 and A350 family of aircraft, there are plans to expand both production capacity and the workforce. By the end of this year, they aim to reach 600 employees.

Following on from Airbus Atlantic and Airbus GBS, this year you have moved forward with a joint venture with Critical Software in the aerospace sector. Is Portugal still an attractive market for investment? What needs to be done to attract more investment from companies such as Airbus to the country?

Portugal remains a highly attractive market for Airbus. Over more than five decades, we have built a strategic partnership with the country that has definitely contributed to placing Portugal at the center of Aerospace industrial development. This investment today translates into a strong contribution to the national economy.

Airbus supports around 1,700 direct jobs in Portugal, generating approximately 110 million euros in annual economic impact for the country. Our commitment to the local supply chain is equally robust: while we typically source around 70 million euros annually from 35 Portuguese partners, this figure reached a record 87 million euros in 2024 alone, sustaining an estimated 6,000 indirect jobs across the country.

This long-term presence, spanning Airbus Atlantic in Santo Tirso, Airbus Global Business Services in Lisbon and Coimbra, our Joint Venture with Critical Software — Critical Flytech –, as well as the very recent integration of Sevenair into the Airbus Flight Academy, demonstrates that Portugal is not a peripheral location but an increasingly central part of Airbus’ global ecosystem.

Portugal may reinforce its commitment to the collective ‘Buy European’ strategy by prioritizing the acquisition of European platforms, which is essential for long term alignment. Such commitment will send a powerful signal that Portugal is a strategic home for the kind of high-level investment that Airbus is ready to scale up.

In Santo Tirso, Airbus increased its production area by 30%, and GBS already has two hubs: one in Lisbon with a satellite site in Coimbra. When it was launched in Coimbra in 2022, you aimed to employ 900 people across the group by 2025. Has this target been met?

Yes! That ambition has not only been achieved, but it has also been exceeded. Airbus Global Business Services in Portugal today counts more than 1,300 experts across Lisbon and Coimbra, surpassing the original 900-employee target set for 2025. Our GBS team in Portugal has now 49 nationalities represented, and it means that we are also attracting very skilled persons to contribute to the national ecosystem.

This growth reflects both the strong performance of the Portuguese teams and the increasing strategic relevance of GBS within Airbus’ global operating model.

Are there plans to expand GBS in terms of staff numbers or new locations?

As we work to deliver a global backlog of over 8,776 aircraft [Orders and Deliveries’ update of February 2026], Portugal remains central to our scaling strategy. While specific headcount or location decisions are always aligned with business demand, Airbus stands ready to deepen its footprint in Portugal.

However, our footprint isn’t just growing in size; it’s growing in sophistication. Beyond GBS and Airbus Atlantic, we are pioneering flight-critical software with our Joint Venture with Critical Software — Critical Flytech —  and have integrated Sevenair into the Airbus Flight Academy program — a first for the country.

What sort of talent profile will be required?

GBS has become a key capability center for the group, delivering high-value services across Finance, HR, Procurement, IM, Engineering, Communication, Customer Services, Legal and Compliance.

Portugal now plays a central and expanding role in Airbus’ worldwide support structure, contributing directly to the company’s industrial ramp-up, digital transformation and long-term competitiveness.

The talent profile required is increasingly advanced and multidisciplinary. GBS requires highly skilled professionals in finance, digital solutions, procurement and compliance.

Companies have cited talent as one of the reasons for setting up in Portugal. Is this still the case?

Talent continues to be one of the main reasons Airbus invests in Portugal. The country offers a highly educated, adaptable and reliable workforce, with strong engineering and digital competencies. The fact that Airbus now employs around 1,700 people directly in Portugal, considering its GBS operations but also the plant of Airbus Atlantic, reflects confidence in this talent base.

Maintaining this advantage will require sustained investment in STEM education, closer industry–academia collaboration and reinforcement of technical and vocational pathways aligned with aerospace needs.

Beyond nurturing local expertise, Airbus is actively reversing the ‘brain drain’. Through Critical Flytech, our recently launched joint venture, we are providing the sophisticated industrial environment necessary to recapture Portuguese tech professionals from abroad.

Yet, our mission extends beyond recruitment; we are actively building the workforce of tomorrow. By leveraging robust upskilling and trainee programs, we address regional skill shortages and provide critical retraining for the long-term unemployed. By transforming untapped potential into a specialized workforce and ensuring their seamless absorption into the active labor market, we are reclaiming Portugal’s most vital competitive asset: its people.

Recently, the CEO of Airbus Atlantic in Santo Tirso complained about the lack of a training pipeline in the aviation sector, which makes it difficult to recruit the necessary talent. Would it make sense for Airbus to set up a training school?

Airbus is deeply invested in the full lifecycle of Portuguese talent, from vocational training to high-end engineering. This commitment is physically anchored in the expansion of our Airbus Atlantic facility in Santo Tirso, which is gaining 5,500 m² of industrial space.

To support this 30% increase in capacity and reach our goal of 600 highly skilled employees by late 2026, a structured collaboration between industry and technical institutes is no longer just an advantage—it is a necessity.

To ensure this growth is sustainable, we are proactively strengthening the national training pipeline. This is evidenced by Airbus Atlantic’s partnership with CENFIM, which focuses on specialized aerostructure manufacturing and professional retraining.

This collaboration aims to create a reliable talent pool by addressing both initial education and professional retraining. By strengthening this educational baseline, we contribute to ensure a sustainable flow of skills for our operations and the local industry, now and in the future.

Airbus is committed to working closely with national stakeholders to support long-term skills development and not only at an industrial context: The integration of SevenAir into the Airbus Flight Academy, occurred last week, represents an important step in reinforcing Portugal’s aviation training ecosystem, positioning the country not only as an industrial hub but also as a centre for excellence in aviation training.

Portugal wants to renew its fighter jet fleet. The F-16s are reaching the end of their service life and the Eurofighter consortium, of which Airbus is a member, is one of the bidders. Last October, Airbus signed a memorandum of understanding with the AED Cluster to explore ways of involving the domestic industry in the supply chain. Almost five months on, what are the results?

The Memorandum of Understanding signed at the end of October last year with AED Cluster reflects Airbus’ commitment to explore how Portuguese industry can further integrate into the Eurofighter supply chain and related technology areas.

With the support of AED Cluster, our engagement has focused on mapping national industrial capabilities and identifying areas of potential industrial cooperation. We are right now in the process of visiting and discussing with the identified Portuguese companies and institutions. So far we have connected with a total of 14 local entities in various business sectors from national champions to medium sized companies.

The scale of industrial return will naturally depend on the details and decision of the fighter programme in Portugal.

Airbus, as a truly European company, is dedicated to strengthening the European aerospace and defence industry through close collaboration with Portuguese partners, ensuring that Portugal can play an increasingly relevant role within the European ecosystem.

So far, Airbus’s manufacturing operations in Portugal have focused on commercial aviation. Given the need to meet European demand in the defence sector, could Portugal host a factory to meet this demand for fighter jets, helicopters…?

Airbus’ production activities in Portugal are currently primarily focused on commercial aviation. This is spearheaded by the Airbus Atlantic plant, where production is dedicated to commercial aircraft components. This strategic presence reinforces Airbus’ position as the leading provider of aircraft in Portugal, currently representing more than 80% of the fleet operated by Portuguese airlines.

While the local manufacturing footprint is focused on commercial aircraft, we maintain a robust network of Portuguese suppliers and partners within the Defense and Space sectors to support Airbus global programs.

However, given the evolving European security environment and its recognised defence capability gap, Portugal possesses the industrial and talent base to anchor an even larger share of the European defense supply chain.

The future expansion hinges on long-term program commitments and continued alignment with national defense authorities. By prioritizing competitiveness and strategic partnerships, Portugal can turn current security challenges into a catalyst for industrial growth.

Would the choice of Eurofighter be the starting signal? Is that the signal you are waiting for?

Major defence procurement decisions often act as catalysts for industrial development. A decision in favour of a European solution such as Eurofighter would naturally open structured discussions about industrial participation, technology transfer and long-term cooperation.

Airbus is keen to work with Portugal on future defence projects, supporting the development of a more integrated and autonomous European defence industry. However, Airbus’ commitment to Portugal is broader than any single programme and is grounded in a partnership built over more than five decades.

You are facing competition from Lockheed Martin and SAAB. Have you discussed this matter with the Government yet? What are the main concerns? What might tip the balance in your favour?

Airbus maintains regular dialogue with governmental stakeholders, as is standard in the aerospace and defence sector, but we never comment on confidential discussions. Decision-makers evaluate operational capability, lifecycle costs, interoperability, industrial return and strategic autonomy.

In a difficult geopolitical context like the one we have today, marked by uncertainty and a recognised European defence gap after decades of underinvestment, European solutions contribute not only to operational capability but also technological sovereignty and reinforcement of the European industrial base. Airbus remains committed to supporting NATO Allies while advocating stronger European integration in defence.

Internationally, there has been much talk of the disagreement between Germany and France regarding the European fighter jet project. Could such uncertainty affect this business opportunity?

From Airbus’ perspective, the fundamental European requirement for an ambitious and sovereign Future Combat Air System remains unchanged. The strategic environment has only reinforced the need for Europe to invest in advanced, next-generation air combat capabilities that ensure long-term security and technological leadership.

We firmly believe that an ambition of this scale can only be successfully delivered through cooperation. A genuinely collaborative approach is essential not only to share risks and resources, but also to foster operational interoperability and lifecycle synergies among European air forces.

At the same time, the temporary deadlock affecting a single pillar of the programme should not be allowed to jeopardise the broader objective. The Future Combat Air System represents a critical high-technology capability for Europe, one that will significantly enhance our collective deterrence and strategic autonomy. It is vital that progress continues in a way that preserves this overarching ambition.

Should our customer nations decide to adapt the programme’s structure, Airbus would fully support a two-fighter solution if so mandated. We remain committed to playing a leading role in a reorganised FCAS framework, delivered through strong European cooperation and aligned with the long-term security interests of Europe as a whole.

Is there any indication of when the decision-making process regarding the fighter jets will begin in Portugal? In December, the Defence Minister said it had not yet begun…

The selection of Portugal’s future fighter fleet is a sovereign matter for the Government. As such, Airbus does not comment on the details of this process or on specific government-related deliberations.