NATO Military Committee Chair Concludes Official Visit to Portugal
Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, Chair of the NATO Military Committee, concluded an official visit to Portugal from October 19 to 21, 2026, holding talks with senior military leadership in Lisbon, visiting NATO Naval Striking and Support Forces (STRIKFORNATO), and attending a security conference.
The visit began with a meeting between Admiral Cavo Dragone and General João Cartaxo Alves, Chief of General Staff of the Portuguese Armed Forces. According to NATO, the Military Committee Chair thanked Portugal for its contributions to NATO missions—including operations on the eastern flank, airspace policing in the Nordic and Baltic Sea regions, and KFOR—as well as its support for Ukraine. He also noted Portugal's involvement in military innovation, highlighting the REPMUS exercise and its commissioning of Europe's first drone carrier.
On the second day, Admiral Cavo Dragone attended a commemoration ceremony at Forte do Bom Sucesso honoring fallen service members, followed by a visit to Portugal's Joint Operations Command. Later in Oeiras, he met with STRIKFORNATO Deputy Commander Vice Admiral Craig Wood and observed activities linked to exercise Neptune Strike 2026. The exercise focuses on integrating Allied maritime capabilities across air, land, and amphibious forces, involving assets such as the Italian aircraft carrier Cavour, the Turkish amphibious assault ship Anadolu, and the British aircraft carrier Prince of Wales.
On the final day, Admiral Cavo Dragone addressed the Strategic Transformation Laboratory, a conference co-organized by CNN Portugal and the Portuguese Military University Institute (IUM). Speaking to an audience that included Portuguese Minister of National Defence Nuno Melo, he stressed the importance of readiness, Allied resilience, and strengthening deterrence capabilities.
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
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