Mechanized Brigade (Portugal)

This article may be expanded with text translated from the corresponding article in Portuguese. (September 2019) Click [show] for important translation instructions. Machine translation like DeepL or Google Translate is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Consider adding a topic to this template: there are already 1,294 articles in the main category, and specifying|topic= will aid in categorization. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing Portuguese Wikipedia article at [[:pt:]]; see its history for attribution. You should also add the template {{Translated page}} to the talk page. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

Portuguese Mechanized Brigade Leopard 2 A6 during NATO exercise Trident Juncture 15.

The Mechanized Brigade (Portuguese: Brigada Mecanizada) or BriMec is a mechanized infantry brigade in service with the Portuguese Army.^[1]

History[]

The 3rd Infantry Division (3ª Divisão de Infantaria or Divisão Nun´Álvares) was created and assigned to NATO in 1953.

The Nun Alvares Division adopted an almost totally U.S. organization (and equipment), including around 20,000 men, with three infantry regiments (each reinforced with a squadron of tanks), a divisional tank battalion, three field artillery battalions and anti-aircraft, engineering, signal and logistical units. To serve as a training base for the division, the large Santa Margarida Military Camp was built. As the Nun'Álvares Division started to be mainly maintained by the 3rd Military Region (headquartered in Tomar), from 1955, it began to be officially designated as the 3rd Division.

In 1960 the "Nun Alvares" Division's organization was changed from three tactical groupings, based on infantry regiments, to three LANDCENT-type infantry brigades. In 1961 the 3rd Division organized its last large maneuvers. From 1961, the Portuguese Army's effort focused primarily on the Overseas War, with the division entering a decline.

In 1968–1976, studies were carried out to update Portugal's ground contribution to NATO for a force of different characteristics from the 3rd Division. This took form with the 1st Independent Composite Brigade (1ª Brigada Mista Independente, 1ª BMI), established in 1976. After the end of the Cold War, the brigade was redesignated the Independent Mechanized Brigade (Brigada Mecanizada Independente), which then became the Mechanized Brigade in 2006.

List of units[]

Portuguese Army Field Artillery Battery M109A5

The Mechanized Brigade differs from the army's other two brigades as its units aren't provided by regiments. All units of the Mechanized Brigade are part of the Mechanized Brigade at all times and are all based at the Santa Margarida Camp. The following units are part of the Mechanized Brigade:^[2]

• Mechanized Brigade, in Santa Margarida^[3]
  • Command and Services Company (Companhia de Comando e Serviços)
  • Tank Group, (Grupo de Carros de Combate) with two squadrons of Leopard 2 A6
  • Mechanized Infantry Battalion, (Batalhão de Infantaria Pesada BIPes) with M113A1/A2 armored personnel carrier
  • Field Artillery Group, (Grupo de Artilharia de Campanha or GAC) with M109A5 155mm self-propelled howitzers
  • Reconnaissance Squadron, (Esquadrão de Reconhecimento or ERec) with Leopard 2 A6 and M901 ITV tank destroyers
  • Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battery, (Bateria de Artilharia Anti-Aérea or BtrAAA) with MIM-72A3 Chaparral surface-to-air missiles
  • Engineer Company, (Companhia de Engenharia Combate Pesado or CEngCombPes) with M60 AVLB
  • Signal Company, (Companhia de Transmissões or CTms)
  • Combat Service Support Battalion, (Batalhão de Apoio de Serviços or BApSvc)

Equipment[]

Armored Vehicles
Name	Origin	Number	Image	Notes
Leopard 2A6	Germany	37		Portugal also bought 1 for training and 1 for spares. Will be modernized from 2026 to 2030.[4][5] 32 are in 2 combat squadrons (GCC, Tank Battalion) 5 are in the ERec, Reconnaissance Company
M901A1 ITV	United States	4		4 in service since 1993.[6]
M113 BGM-71 TOW	United States	17		M113 armored personnel carrier equipped with BGM-71 TOW
M113 Armored Personnel Carrier	United States	190		255 M113A1/A2 APC received (190 in service) 101 M113A1 received from the USA in 1977 104 M113A2 received from Netherlands in 1993 50 M113A1 received from Germany in 1994
M106 mortar carrier	United States	18		10 M106 and 8 M106A2, equipped with M30 mortar.[7]
M125 mortar carrier	United States	15		3 M125A1 and 12 M125A2, equipped with 81mm M29 mortar.
M577	United States	49		49 M577A2 (46 in service as command vehicles and three in service as ambulance vehicles) 68 received: 10 A2, in 1995, 24 A2, in 1997; 18, in 1998; 10, in 1999 and 6, in 2000.[6]
Field artillery
M109A5	United States	18		Self-propelled howitzer. In process of overhaul (little modernization and repair)[8]
Anti-aircraft artillery
M48A2E1 Chaparral	United States			Self-propelled surface-to-air missile system. Some in the A2 and others in the A3 versions.
Training, engineering and recovery vehicles
Leopard 2 Driver Training Tank	Germany	1		One unit in service since 2008, used for training Leopard 2 A6 new drivers.[9]
Carro Blindado Lança Pontes M60 AVLB m/1981	United States	4		4 are in service since 1981.
M88 Recovery Vehicle	United States	8		6 M88A1 and 2 M88A1G have been in service since 1978.
M578 light recovery vehicle	United States	29		29 in service since 1995.

References[]