22 November 2016

Danish contribution to the ballistic missile defence is no longer on Natos wish list

Danish contribution to the ballistic missile defence is no longer on Natos wish list writes Ingeniøren.dk today. Since 2014 it has been planned that Denmark would contribute to Natos ballistic missile defence with new radars on Danish frigates, but Natos Capability Target 2017 wish that Denmark invest in new air defence missiles instead. In that connection Centre for Military Studies’ military analyst, Hans Peter Michaelsen, says:

“With far-reaching air defence missiles the frigates will be able to participate in completely different types of missions. For example they would be able to participate in the defence of a large navy force or areas of land near the sea,” he says to Ingeniøren.

So far it is not certain that Denmark will follow Nato’s new changes, one possibility could be to postpone buying the radars for the missile defence, and it seems militarily reasonable to invest in air power missiles, before investing in missile defence, believe Hans Peter Michaelsen. This way the frigates capacities are gradually expanded within conventional air defence before they are upgraded to the more advanced ballistic missile defence later on.

Read the whole article on Ingeniøren here (in Danish).