Denmark outlines new procurement priorities

Denmark’s new government – formed at the beginning of June – has outlined its key defence procurement priorities for its time in office and says it will launch a new strategy that will “remove barriers” for its domestic industry, as the country seeks to enhance its defence readiness.  

In a government-wide document titled "The political basis for the four-leaf clover government" on June 2, the country's new coalition outlined a series of defence, financial, and environmental objectives to support the country’s growth and economy.  

Defence was a key focus, with the government detailing efforts to deliver “strong” maritime capabilities and cost-effective air, missile, and drone defences. 

The government also aims to upgrade the military’s ‘digital backbone’, improving the sharing of data across defence. To support this initiative, drone, sensor, and satellite capacity will be enhanced.   

Other key capabilities the government intends to strengthen include: 

• AI and quantum technology 
• Early warning and intelligence capabilities  
• Uncrewed and long-range precision weapons 

Aside from boosting its capabilities, the government is planning to launch a new Defence Industrial Strategy to help ensure “security of supply” in key technology areas, while also making Denmark better able to contribute to EU, NATO, and Nordic Defence Cooperation initiatives. 

Despite minimal detail as to how this will be achieved ahead of the strategy itself, the new government says it will ensure that defence materiel and software are “purchased, to a greater extent, from Danish and European companies”. 

Currently, no delivery date for the industrial strategy has been disclosed. 

This is a change from Denmark’s previous Defence Industrial Strategy – released in 2021 – which spoke generally of closer collaboration with partners but did not specify in Europe in particular. 

Since that time, much of the context of European security has changed, with a significant shift towards localised supply chains. 

The new Danish plan mirrors the sentiment of the EU’s ‘ReArm Europe Plan – Readiness 2030’, which seeks to strengthen strategic autonomy among member states and boost local production capacity.