Denmark has chosen to acquire three distinct ground-based air defense systems from manufacturers in Germany, France, and Norway in an effort to rapidly address significant gaps in its national defense capabilities.
This decision follows nearly 20 years after Denmark dismantled its ground-based air defense infrastructure in 2005, a move aimed at prioritizing international military missions. However, this left the country exposed to potential missile threats, a growing concern among Danish defense officials.
To address this in the near term, the Danish Ministry of Defense revealed earlier this summer that it will purchase the Iris-T medium-range surface-to-air missile system from German firm Diehl Defence and the VL Mica system from France’s MBDA. In addition, Denmark will lease a NASAMS system from Norwegian defense contractor Kongsberg as an interim solution until a long-term air defense platform is selected later in the year.
“We are helping ensure Denmark has access to a reliable NASAMS system while they work on choosing a permanent setup—this is yet another example of strong Nordic defense collaboration,” said Maj. Gen. Øyvind Johan Kvalvik, deputy director of the Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency.
Although the lease cost has not been publicly disclosed, officials indicate it is calculated based on Norway’s operational, training, and support expenditures for the system. Danish artillery personnel will undergo training in Norway under the instruction of the Norwegian Air Force, ahead of the NASAMS system’s scheduled delivery later this year.
While leasing air defense systems is not standard practice, Denmark is not alone in taking this route. In 2022, for example, Poland entered into a lease agreement with General Atomics for an unspecified number of MQ-9A drones. The country later followed up by purchasing three MQ-9B SkyGuardian drones, the naval version, two years after the lease began.
