Braxton Taylor
Denmark’s Defense Ministry made waves with its March 30 announcement of an ambitious naval plan that aims to buy at least 26 new vessels and lays out short- and long-term roadmaps for the Royal Danish Navy’s and the Naval Home Guard’s procurement, capabilities, and strategic goals.
In the short term, Copenhagen plans to secure the Danish home waters, buying 21 vessels to replace the Naval Home Guard’s aging small craft, used primarily for coastal patrol, harbor security and surveillance. Scores of smaller, more capable boats will likely replace the MHV 800 class of 83-ton patrol vessels.
As part of its local security push, the Danish government will prioritize securing undersea infrastructure, including vital telecommunications lines, electrical cables, and gas pipelines. This threat of undersea sabotage was felt keenly last year when the Danish navy intercepted a Chinese vessel suspected of severing Baltic underwater telecom cables. So the navy will seek to acquire a first-of-its-kind vessel dedicated to underwater infrastructure surveillance and security. It will be fitted with a formidable arsenal of defensive tools, including advanced sensors and uncrewed undersea vehicles, to combat an emerging grey-zone warfare tactic that threatens critical infrastructure.
Four multi-purpose ships will be acquired to fill a curious set of roles. To make the most of Danish Defense’s limited funds, the ships will be primarily used to contain chemical and oil spills but will also be used for patrol, surveillance, training, and minelaying. The decision comes as Denmark announced plans to buy hundreds of sea mines to improve area access and denial in its territorial waters. Given the shallow waters of the Baltic and Denmark’s strategic position at the entrance to the North Sea, mines and minelaying platforms are useful for countering growing Russian undersea threats in the region.
The plan sheds no new light on Denmark’s next major surface combatant, but does announce plans to begin seeking a successor to the Navy’s current largest warships: the three Iver Huitfeldt-class air-defense frigates. Active since 2011, they have another decade before their planned retirement. The Navy may seek to have them entirely or partially built in Denmark. After that, the navy may begin seeking successors to its two 20-year-old Absalon-class frigates.
The document also floated the idea of buying a second batch of Arctic patrol ships. The first batch, which are slated to arrive in 2029, was initially conceived as a class of up to six flexible patrol ships. Then in January, Denmark announced that the vessels would be re-oriented into Arctic patrol ships. Design of these ships is being undertaken by Danske Patruljeskibe K/S, a Danish consortium of Terma, Odense Maritime Technology, and PensionDenmark. The decision to adapt the design, as well as the possible procurement of a second batch, reflects Danish leaders’ growing concern about Russian activity in the High North and apprehension about U.S. President Donald Trump’s refusal to rule out force in acquiring Greenland, the Danish self-governing island territory.
Copenhagen is also considering buying icebreakers with other nations. Such a concept would likely take the form of a shared Nordic reinforced icebreaker design, which could be used to clear paths for commercial vessels or reach remote outposts and settlements across the Polar region, particularly as climate change opens new routes. While less of an immediate need, this plank of the overhaul plan is a nod to Moscow’s 41 icebreakers, seven of which are nuclear-powered, constituting not only the world’s largest such fleet but one almost on par with the entirety of the NATO alliance.
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