Around 100 Americans are expected to crew and provide ground support for three P8 submarine-hunting planes that the US will station at Lajes Base, which should lead to 300 more Portuguese jobs – according to US sources.
The figures are based on the commitment made by Leon Panetta when he was US Secretary of Defense (2011-2013), which guaranteed three Portuguese jobs for every American at Lajes. “That commitment has never been revoked and that’s why it’s still in force,” a high-ranking US military officer told DI (Diário Insular newspaper from Angra do Heroísmo). The installation of three P8s permanently at Lajes is expected to take place once the complete renovation of the 705 building and associated support areas for aircraft operations functions has been completed.
“Approximately 282 square meters of existing paved area must be repaired to provide a secure area for outdoor storage and staging of equipment to support P-8 operations,” says the US Navy’s press release.
According to the document, “the contract period will be 705 days after notice to proceed” and the “magnitude of the construction project” is between five and 10 million dollars (about nine million euros). The expected award date is June 2025.
According to our sources, the permanent deployment of P8 aircraft cannot wait for the completion of the works, so it should take place in 2025 “or later this year”. For the time being, the submarine hunting and search planes are operating on a rotational basis, a situation the military considers “manifestly insufficient”.
Meanwhile, the Navy is carrying out a study of the entire bay of Praia da Vitória, including the commercial port, but also the outer part of the port.
This infrastructure engineering and hydrographic study is intended to find access to ports of interest to the Sixth Fleet.
Our sources did not give any details, but said that the possible installation of Navy structures in Praia da Vitória “will have a strong impact on local employment”.

In Diário Insular, José Lourenço-director

Leon Panetta was Secretary of Defense for two years during the Obama Administration.

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