PARIS — The Danish authorities has determined the nation wants long-range strike weapons to strengthen its deterrence posture in addition to the collective deterrence of NATO, based mostly on a advice from Chief of Defence Gen. Michael Hyldgaard.
The Danish armed forces will now determine methods to purchase and combine long-range precision weapons within the power, Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen stated in a press release on Wednesday.
The choice in precept follows an announcement earlier this month to speculate round 58 billion kroner (US$9.2 billion) in eight medium- and long-range air protection methods.
The Danish plan so as to add long-range strike comes as European navy leaders more and more acknowledge that time protection gained’t suffice to guard cities in opposition to massed swarms of missiles and drones, a tactic Russia makes use of in Ukraine to overwhelm air defenses. In that logic, neutralizing enemy launch capabilities at vary shall be important.
“Along with the ground-based air protection, Denmark is strengthening its capacity not solely to counter threats from the air, but additionally to extra actively fight threats removed from Denmark,” Lund Poulsen stated.
The Ukrainian expertise reveals the significance of layered air protection that may each defend in opposition to threats within the air, in addition to preventively defeat such threats on enemy territory earlier than launch, the Defence Ministry stated. That features the power to defeat targets reminiscent of enemy missile launchers.
Shopping for long-range precision weapons is a request by NATO, and Denmark is shopping for them to discourage and keep away from a scenario the place they’re wanted, in accordance with Overseas Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen. The Danish functionality will contribute to Europe’s ambition to have the ability to defend itself by 2030 on the newest, he stated.
The Danish Ministry of Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organisation will now analysis the market to find out which weapons finest swimsuit the Danish wants, the federal government stated.
Attainable long-range strike candidates would possibly embody the Tomahawk cruise missile, which might equip the Danish Iver Huitfeldt-class frigates. An alternative choice is long-range munitions appropriate with the nation’s F-35 fighter jets such because the JASSM-ER stand-off missile.
Pan-European missile maker MBDA has been advertising a land-launched model of its naval cruise missile, and on the DSEI UK protection present final week unveiled a low-cost effector with an 800-kilometer plus vary known as Crossbow, with an goal to be prepared for manufacturing at scale within the second quarter of 2026.
France, Germany, Italy and Poland are cooperating on the European Lengthy-Vary Strike Method, although the timeline for that venture stays unclear.
A German-British settlement signed in July to develop “deep precision strike” weapon with a spread of greater than 2,000 kilometers as a part of ELSA is predicted to end in a functionality “inside a decade.”
Rudy Ruitenberg is a Europe correspondent for Protection Information. He began his profession at Bloomberg Information and has expertise reporting on know-how, commodity markets and politics.
