Portuguese Air Force (Forca Aerea Portuguesa) Medical Evacuation

The Portuguese Air Force, known in Portuguese as Força Aérea Portuguesa, is the military air service of Portugal. Its headquarters are in Amadora, near Lisbon. It is a government and military service.

Alongside its defence role, the air force flies helicopters for search and rescue and for urgent patient transport. Its helicopter crews move sick patients and rescue people at sea.

In October 2026, one crew finished an inter-island transport of three patients who needed specific health care. The same crew then carried out a sea rescue. It took a patient off a cargo ship about 463 kilometres northeast of Terceira Island in the Azores.

The sea rescue was run by the Lajes Search and Rescue Coordination Centre. The request came from the maritime rescue centre in Ponta Delgada. This shows how the air force works with rescue coordination centres.

Esquadra 752, called Fénix, is a helicopter squadron that flies the EH-101 Merlin. The air force also operates its air bases, radar stations, training academy, and the armed forces hospital in Lisbon.

The air force publishes news about exercises, including TitanSky 2026 and NATO Tiger Meet 2025. It also has a magazine, Mais Alto, and a photo gallery. Its motto is A voar, protegemos, which means flying, we protect.

Services

• Search and rescue
• Sea rescue
• Helicopter patient transport
• Inter-island patient transport
• Rescue coordination with Lajes centre