The chair of NATO’s Military Committee, Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, visited Lisbon from 19 to 21 October for meetings with Portugal’s military leadership, a visit to a NATO maritime headquarters and an appearance at a security conference.
Cavo Dragone met Portugal’s Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, General João Cartaxo Alves, during the trip, NATO informed on Wednesday.
He thanked Portugal for pledges to NATO missions including on the alliance’s eastern flank, in the Baltic and Nordic skies and to KFOR — NATO’s peacekeeping mission in Kosovo — as well as for support to Ukraine.
He also took part in an act of remembrance at Forte do Bom Sucesso in Lisbon, where the Monument to the Overseas Combatants is located, before visiting Portugal’s Joint Command for Military Operations.
NATO exercise activity in Oeiras
Cavo Dragone later visited STRIKFORNATO in Oeiras — short for Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO — where he observed activity linked to the Neptune Strike 2026 exercise, NATO said.
Neptune Strike 2026 brings together allied maritime strike capabilities with air, land and amphibious forces, with assets listed by NATO including Italy’s aircraft carrier "Cavour," Türkiye’s amphibious assault ship "Anadolu" and the UK’s aircraft carrier "Prince of Wales."
He also met STRIKFORNATO’s deputy commander, Rear Admiral Craig Wood CBE.
The admiral ended the visit by delivering a keynote speech at the “Strategic Transformation Lab – European Security in Transformation” event, co-hosted by CNN Portugal and the Military University Institute, with Portugal’s Minister of National Defence Nuno Melo among those in the audience.
“The surest way to keep peace is to leave no doubt that, if deterrence fails, we are ready — and we will prevail,” Cavo Dragone declared.
