The Portuguese Army has given a significant boost to its dismounted soldier system programme SCS (Sistemas de Combate do Soldado) following a EUR42.8 million (USD56.9 million) contract that was awarded by the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) to FN Herstal in October 2019.
In total 15,000 5.56 × 45 mm SCAR-L STD assault rifles, 940 7.62 × 51 mm SCAR-H STD assault rifles (550 of which incorporate the Trijicon VCOG 1-6 × 24 riflescope and bipod), 1,000 5.56 × 45 mm MINIMI Mk3 Tactical SB and 400 7.62 × 51 mm MINIMI Mk3 Tactical machine guns, and 2,000 40 × 46 mm FN40GL-S stand-alone grenade launchers are being received through 2022, Major Ricardo Jorge Parcelas Araújo e Silva, an area coordinator at the Forces Planning Division, told Janes on 17 March.
The SCS programme is outfitting Portuguese dismounted soldiers with an array of new equipment. (Victor Barreira)
Aimpoint CompM4 red dot sights for the SCAR-L STDs and 5.56 x 45 mm MINIMI Mk3s,Trijicon ACOG 3.5 × 35 riflescopes for 7.62 × 51 mm MINIMI Mk3s, Extrema Ratio Fulcrum bayonets, and a ten-year tools and gauges package were part of the contract.
Moreover, 380 Benelli SuperNova TS 12-gauge shotguns and 3,910 Glock G17 Gen5 9 ×19 mm pistols were separately acquired through the NSPA, and received between 2019 and 2021. The shotguns also are used in the counter unmanned aerial system (C-UAS) role.
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