INDEP

INDEP - Indústrias Nacionais de Defesa, EP (Defense National Industries, Public Corporation) was a defense industry company owned by the Portuguese Government and created to replace the Fábrica Nacional de Munições de Armas Ligeiras (National Light Armament Ammunition Factory, FNMAL) and the Fábrica Militar do Braço de Prata (FMBP) under the control of the National Defense Ministry. However, these two companies never completely closed. They merged and continued to exist under the management of INDEP with the new names Fábrica Nacional de Munições (FNM) and Fábrica de Braço de Prata (FBP), respectively. The National Defense Ministry also never took complete control of INDEP and required authorization of the Finance Ministry.