Greece Eyes C-390 Aircraft as Portugal Talks Expand to Drones and Naval Systems
By Bosphorus News Defense Desk
Greece is looking at Portugal as both a possible gateway into the Embraer C-390 airlift programme and a partner in unmanned maritime and aerial systems, after Defence Minister Nikos Dendias used a Lisbon visit to place aircraft procurement, drones, naval technology and defence innovation inside the same bilateral agenda.
Dendias met Portuguese Defence Minister Nuno Melo at Forte de S. Julião da Barra in Lisbon on May 7, followed by bilateral talks and a working lunch. The Greek Defence Ministry said the meeting focused on deepening bilateral defence cooperation, with emphasis on defence innovation, defence industry and research and development in unmanned amphibious systems.
The most visible part of the talks was the Embraer C-390 military transport aircraft. In remarks released by the Greek Defence Ministry, Dendias said production in Portugal and possible Greek procurement of the C-390 were among the issues discussed, thanking Lisbon for viewing the needs of the Hellenic Air Force "in such a positive spirit."
The language stops short of a deal. No number of aircraft, price tag or delivery timetable was announced. Reuters also reported that Dendias gave no figures after saying Greece was interested in purchasing the Brazilian-built transport aircraft. The same report placed the interest inside Greece's wider defence modernization plan through 2036, estimated at about €28 billion, and noted that Greece currently operates C-130 and C-27 transport aircraft.
A C-390 acquisition would give Greece a modern airlift option at a time when military mobility, island logistics and rapid deployment capacity are gaining weight across NATO's southern flank. The aircraft is marketed for cargo and troop transport, medical evacuation, search and rescue, firefighting and humanitarian missions, with Embraer listing a 26-ton payload and the ability to operate from unpaved runways.
Portugal gives the discussion an industrial dimension. Reuters identified OGMA, which is majority-owned by Embraer, as a key industrial partner in the C-390 programme, producing central fuselage sections. OGMA also presents itself as an authorized Embraer service centre for the C-390 Millennium, covering maintenance, repair, modernization, field support and fleet life cycle support.
The Lisbon visit, however, was not limited to transport aircraft. Dendias said unmanned surface vessels, unmanned underwater vehicles, unmanned aerial vehicles, innovation and modern technologies were discussed extensively. That list points to a broader Greek effort to connect air mobility with maritime autonomy and defence-industrial cooperation rather than treating the C-390 as a standalone procurement file.
The itinerary reinforced that point. The Greek Defence Ministry said Dendias would visit Portugal's 506th Aircraft Squadron facilities and, on May 8, the Operational Centre for Unmanned Vehicles at Lisbon Naval Base, as well as the European Maritime Safety Agency. The programme links aircraft, naval systems and European security institutions inside one visit.
Greece has been widening its defence modernization agenda across aircraft, naval capabilities, drones and surveillance systems, a shift that also fits the broader Aegean defence doctrine Bosphorus News examined in its coverage of Greece's Achilles Shield and the 2026 Aegean defence posture. Greece's procurement track has also moved beyond single-platform replacement, with Bosphorus News previously detailing how the Greece-Israel PULS deal fits into long-range firepower and Aegean defence planning.
The Portugal talks add another layer to that pattern. They also sit inside a wider Eastern Mediterranean defence network, where Greece, Cyprus and Israel have been deepening military coordination, as Bosphorus News reported in its coverage of the Greece-Cyprus-Israel trilateral military pact and its regional implications.
The distinction matters. A C-390 purchase has not been signed, and Greece has not committed publicly to a fleet size. But Dendias' Lisbon remarks show that Greece is now testing how airlift renewal, unmanned maritime systems and defence innovation can be folded into one modernization track. That makes the Portugal file more than an aircraft story. It shows Greece trying to rebuild military mobility, autonomy and industrial reach at the same time.
***Sources: Greek Defence Ministry, Reuters, OGMA, Embraer.