U.S. expands operations at Portugal’s Lajes Air Base

The United States is investing in new infrastructure at Portugal’s Azores military air base, Lajes, on Terceira Island, just as the Pentagon has announced it is reducing the U.S. military footprint elsewhere in Europe.

Expresso explains the move is ‘all about anti-submarine warfare operations’, in the context of ‘growing underwater threats’ seemingly posed in the Atlantic, “including emerging Russian and Chinese nuclear-powered underwater drones”.

The plan centres on “preparing for the possibility of deploying Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft to Lajes”. Construction work is already under way on Building 705 within the complex to accommodate additional personnel and support anti-submarine warfare operations.

The project forms part of a broader effort to enhance surveillance, says the paper, adding that the U.S. Navy maintained at least four P-8A Poseidon aircraft at Lajes in May during operations linked to the conflict in Iran. There was even one filmed arriving at the base on June 1 (The Asas dos Açores Facebook page is a font of information on the scale of aircraft passing through Lajes). In the case of maritime patrol aircraft, the Poseidon’s passing through Lajes were “at times joined by two French Bréguet Atlantique aircraft, also specialised in anti-submarine warfare”, says Expresso.

This expansion follows “a decade of drastic reduction” in U.S. military personnel deployed at the base.

Normally, a P-8A Poseidon operates with a crew of around nine people (pilots, tactical operations officers, and sensor operators) and requires 40 to 80 ground personnel per aircraft – although it has still not been possible to determine the scale of the proposed operation, the paper adds.

The investment predates the Trump administration’s current strategic review of U.S. military deployments: in August 2024, U.S. contractor CMS Corporation was awarded an $11.4 million (€10 million) contract to modernise facilities at Lajes. The company says only around 30% of the project has been completed.

The works include a complete refurbishment of Building 705, support facilities for Poseidon operations, additional equipment storage areas and a dedicated post-flight aircraft washing system designed to remove corrosive salt deposits from aircraft operating at low altitude over the ocean.

Military analysts say the upgrades reflect the growing concern over submarine activity in the Atlantic – and the vulnerability of undersea communications infrastructure.

As we have all been told on several occasions in the past few years, roughly 95% of global digital data traffic is carried through submarine cables, many of which pass through Portuguese waters.

Retired admiral Henrique Gouveia e Melo (and a former contender for President of the Republic) has long held that the Azores could become a central hub for Atlantic surveillance. He revealed that during discussions with senior U.S. Navy officials while serving as Chief of Staff of the Portuguese Navy, the possibility of basing P-8A aircraft in the Azores was already under consideration.

While Gouveia e Melo believes the aircraft are more likely to operate through rotational deployments than a permanent detachment, military historian António José Telo argues that a long-term presence would be logical, given the continuous need to monitor submarine movements and maintain networks of sonar buoys used to detect underwater activity.

“The Atlantic surveillance system must be reviewed jointly by Europe, the United States and Canada,” Telo tells Expresso, warning that nuclear-powered underwater drones have reached the point where they can travel “several times around the world” without recharging their batteries.

The growing U.S. focus on the Azores comes when it is otherwise urging European allies to assume greater responsibility for their own security – and when the government of the Azores is actually calling for a review of the cooperation agreement with the United States, for its use of Lajes.

Gouveia e Melo has in the past suggested that NATO partners should increase their role at Lajes – transforming the base into a more multinational facility shared by both European and American forces.

U.S. Ambassador to Portugal John Arrigo also publicly highlighted concerns about protecting critical communications infrastructure earlier this year – warning that Portugal cannot afford to neglect the security of transatlantic data links.

Expresso adds that neither the U.S. Navy nor the U.S. Embassy in Lisbon commented on the expansion plans when the paper approached them for its story.

The Portuguese Air Force, which commands the base, said it continues to maintain permanent surveillance and control of Portugal’s maritime and airspace responsibilities around the Azores, using its own P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft.

Source: Expresso