The acquisition of the A-7P Corsair II was the result of many attempts by Portugal to replace its F-86F Sabre in the air defense role and, to some extent, the Fiat G.91 in the ground attack role. The first attempts started in 1968, during the Ultramar War, due to the performance of the Portuguese fighters in Africa. After the end of the war, the Portuguese Air Force (PoAF) renewed its attempts in procuring new air combat aircraft because of the F-86 and G.91 being outdated compared to the aircraft fielded by its NATO allies and the countries of the Warsaw Pact.