Latest news with #LundPoelsen
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Denmark to invest around $615 million to renew Navy, Home Guard fleets
PARIS — Denmark will invest about 4 billion Danish kroner (US$615 million) through 2033 in the country's Navy and Home Guard fleets, aiming to improve surveillance and defense of the country's home waters, the government said. The plans include the acquisition of four multifunctional environmental-protection and minelaying vessels, a ship with drones and sonar systems to monitor underwater activity, as well as 21 new vessels for the Naval Home Guard, Defense Minister Troels Lund Poelsen said at a press conference in Copenhagen on Tuesday. The plan was backed by the three-party coalition government and six of the eight other parties in parliament. The parties also agreed on long-term investments in additional capabilities, including air-defense frigates, as well as a decision later this year to buy more Arctic vessels, with details still to be determined. The tasks of the four environmental and minelaying vessels will include surveillance as well as clean-up of chemical and oil spills. Denmark will additionally boost the Navy's ability to monitor both above and under water with a program to develop autonomous units such as underwater drones, according to Lund Poelsen. The government had sketched the outlines of its long-term fleet plan in March, with Lund Poelsen saying the Danish frigate fleet still had a decade in it, with the new naval plan preparing the future acquisition of the next generation of vessels. While the Navy's current frigates still have 'good years' left, new investments have to be made, and due diligence calls for agreement on a new fleet plan before the decision to buy new frigates, Lund Poelsen said. He said those decisions will be made when NATO's capability goals are finalized in June. Lund Poelsen said 'it's no secret' that the next round of naval investment will involve 'a very large number of billions,' without providing details. The Danish government in February agreed to allocate an additional 50 billion kroner to defense over the coming two years, boosting defense spending to more than 3% of GDP in 2025 and 2026. There is a political ambition for the future frigates and the Arctic vessels to be built in Denmark, though there is no decision on that yet, according to the defense minister. Lund Poelsen said he believes Denmark can do more to cooperate with other NATO countries with regards to participating in their frigate capacity-expansion programs. Denmark currently operates three frigates in the Iver Huitfeldt class, the first of which entered service in 2012. The 139-meter vessels, designed for air defense, displace 6,645 tons and are equipped with a 32-cell Mk 41 vertical missile launcher. The Danish Navy also operates two Absalon-class anti-submarine warfare frigates with a multi-purpose deck, which entered service in 2005. The Danish Navy has been using a modular payload system called Standard Flex since the 1990s, allowing vessels to swap out containerized weapons or systems for different missions or roles. The lead vessel in the Iver Huitfeldt class infamously experienced a malfunction of critical weapon and sensor systems on deployment in the Red Sea in 2024, resulting in Lund Poelsen firing Denmark's chief of defense for reportedly failing to disclose the issues aboard the frigate. The Niels Juel, a sister ship of the Iver Huitfeldt, suffered a separate incident while docked in April last year, with the crew unable to deactivate the booster of a Harpoon missile during testing.
Yahoo
03-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Denmark picks Nammo to restart ammo production at shuttered plant
PARIS — Denmark picked Norwegian ammunition maker Nammo to restart a shuttered ammo plant for production of small- and large-caliber ammunition, the country's defense ministry said. Nammo can begin producing ammunition for the Danish forces and others at the shuttered plant in northern Denmark as soon as the production facilities are set up, Denmark's Ministry of Defence said in a statement on Friday. Final negotiations with Nammo are still pending, including a timetable on when actual ammunition production will start. The deteriorating security situation, the war in Ukraine and an updated threat assessment by the Danish Defense Intelligence Service 'emphasize the importance of ensuring future ammunition production in Denmark,' Defence Minister Troels Lund Poelsen said. 'This will make a difference to the security of supply for Denmark, the Nordic region and Europe.' However, ammunition stocks are needed now, and Denmark plans to rapidly build up its stock of mortar and artillery shells even before production can start at Elling, partly to match an assessment of Russia's potential build-up of combat power, the ministry said. Lund Poelsen said it's crucial to start building up the Danish Armed Forces' ammunition stockpiles as soon as possible, and he will decide on action in the short term 'together with the parties.' The Danish government last month agreed to allocate an additional 50 billion Danish kroner ($7 billion) to defense over the coming two years, boosting defense spending to more than 3% of GDP in 2025 and 2026. Denmark agreed to buy the shuttered facilities at Elling in northern Jutland in October 2023, with the stated aim of exploring options for establishing domestic ammunition production. The country had sold the ammunition production activities to Expal in 2008, and the company ceased production at the site in 2020 after several years of losses. The ammunition plant at Elling traces its roots back to the Fyrværkerikompagniet set up in Copenhagen in 1676. Nammo will produce 155 mm and 120 mm shells at the Elling plant, as well as 5.56 mm and 7.62 mm caliber cartridges, the ministry said. All four are NATO standard calibers. 'Nammo has what it takes to become a long-term and solid partner for Denmark, with deep industrial and technical expertise, established supply chains, and solid Norwegian-Finnish ownership to bolster lasting Nordic cooperation,' Nammo CEO Morten Brandtzæg said in a statement. 'We look forward to finalizing an agreement to get production started.' The Norwegian company says it's working on improving ammunition interchangeability in the Nordic region, and that will improve with new production in Denmark. Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 exposed European shortcomings in ammunition manufacturing, with facilities shuttered or scaled down due to lack of demand after the end of the Cold War. Ukraine has at times faced artillery shell shortages as its allies depleted stocks and struggled to ramp up production, though the European Union now expects to produce 2 million shells by the end of 2025, double the pace from a year ago. Nammo is jointly owned by the Norwegian state and Finland's Patria, with the latter owned for 50.1% by the Finnish state and the remainder held by Norway's Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace. Kongsberg in turn is 50.1% owned by the Norwegian state.
