Denmark to buy more F-35 jets, ships in $13.7 billion spending plan

PARIS — Denmark will buy 16 additional F-35 jets, invest in air defenses and maritime patrol aircraft and add to its fleet of Arctic-ready patrol vessels as part of a military spending package through to 2033 worth 88 billion Danish kroner ($13.7 billion), the government said.

The government is budgeting 29 billion kroner for more F-35s to bring the total planned fleet to 43 aircraft, the Danish Ministry of Defense said in a statement late Friday . Denmark operates 15 of the stealthy jets, and expects delivery of its existing order for 27 fighters to be completed in 2026.

“Expanding the fleet of F-35 fighter jets is a key decision in the buildup of the Danish Armed Forces,” Danish Chief of Defence Gen. Michael Hyldgaard said.

Denmark in February agreed to lift defense spending to more than 3% of GDP in 2025 and 2026, citing NATO demands and the threat from Russia. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in June called spending to rearm the European Union’s biggest priority, saying that if Europe is unable to defend itself, “then it’s game over at some point .”

The MoD will start discussions with the F-35 Joint Program Office on details of the acquisition, including possibilities for accelerated delivery of the new jets, it said.

In addition to the fighter jets, Denmark also plans to buy a number of Collaborative Combat Aircraft that could be used as forward weapon platforms or for reconnaissance under tactical control of the F-35 pilots, the MoD said. The U.S. Air Force is developing CCA as a so-called loyal wingman that can operate alongside crewed fighter jets.

The F-35 acquisition will include additional replacement parts and flight simulators, among other things.

The new spending package for the 2025-2033 period allocates 27.8 billion kroner for ground-based air defense, adding to around 30 billion kroner of previously announced funding for that mission. The total air-defense budget of 58 billion kroner announced in September is expected to fund eight medium- and long-range missile-based systems.

Another 27.4 billion kroner will be spent on boosting Danish defense in the Arctic and North Atlantic, including the purchase of two additional Arctic-ready patrol vessels as well as maritime patrol aircraft capability, possibly though cooperation with a NATO ally, the MoD said.

Denmark is exploring buying Boeing’s Poseidon-8 maritime patrol aircraft to boost surveillance of the Arctic region, Danish Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen told local broadcaster TV2 last month. Norway and the United Kingdom, which are Danish partners in the Joint Expeditionary Force, already operate the aircraft, as does neighboring Germany.

Lund Poulsen in January was reported as saying his country had neglected for years to make the necessary investments in ships and aircraft to monitor the kingdom, and was in the process of trying to tackle that. United States President Donald Trump has said several times he wants to annex Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory.

Denmark will also set up an air-warning radar in east Greenland, and work with Sikuki Nuuk Harbour A/S to establish a dedicated naval quay in the Greenland port of Nuuk, with a length of about 150 meters and water depth of approximately 10 meters. Plans also include a submarine cable between Greenland and Denmark.

The Nordic country allocated 2.1 billion kroner to build drone surveillance and counter-drone capabilities. Denmark last month asked NATO allies for anti-drone support to help secure a European summit in Copenhagen, after several flights of unidentified drones in its airspace.

The Danes will also buy 44 new infantry-fighting vehicles, abandoning a previous plan to update the same number of existing CV90 vehicles, in addition to a previously announced purchase of 115 new CV90s from BAE Systems. The plan is to phase out the existing vehicles and use them for spare parts as much as possible, the MoD said.

Rudy Ruitenberg is a Europe correspondent for Defense News. He started his career at Bloomberg News and has experience reporting on technology, commodity markets and politics.

巴黎——丹麦政府表示，作为一项价值 880 亿丹麦克朗（137 亿美元）的军事支出计划的一部分，丹麦将购买 16 架额外的 F-35 战斗机，投资防空和海上巡逻机，并扩充其北极巡逻舰艇舰队，该计划将持续到 2033 年。

丹麦国防部周五晚间发表声明称，政府已拨款290亿克朗用于增购F-35战斗机，使丹麦计划拥有的F-35机队总数达到43架。丹麦目前拥有15架F-35隐形战机，预计其订购的27架战机将于2026年全部交付完毕。

丹麦国防部长迈克尔·希尔德加德将军表示：“扩充F-35战斗机机队是丹麦武装部队建设中的一项关键决定。”

今年2月，丹麦同意在2025年和2026年将国防开支提高到GDP的3%以上，理由是北约的要求以及来自俄罗斯的威胁。丹麦首相梅特·弗雷德里克森在6月称，重新武装是欧盟的首要任务，并表示如果欧洲无法保卫自己，“那么在某个时候，一切就都结束了”。

国防部表示，将与F-35联合项目办公室就采购细节展开讨论，包括加快交付新型战机的可能性。

丹麦国防部表示，除了战斗机外，丹麦还计划采购一批协同作战飞机（CCA），这些飞机可用作前沿武器平台或在F-35飞行员的战术指挥下执行侦察任务。美国空军正在研发CCA，将其定位为所谓的“忠诚僚机”，能够与有人驾驶战斗机协同作战。

此次采购F-35战机还将包括额外的替换零件和飞行模拟器等。

新的2025-2033年支出方案拨款278亿克朗用于地面防空，此前已宣布为此项任务拨款约300亿克朗。9月份公布的580亿克朗防空总预算预计将用于建造8套中远程导弹防御系统。

丹麦国防部表示，还将额外花费 274 亿克朗用于加强丹麦在北极和北大西洋的国防，包括购买两艘额外的北极巡逻舰以及海上巡逻机能力，可能会与北约盟国合作进行。

丹麦国防部长特罗尔斯·伦德·波尔森上个月告诉当地电视台TV2，丹麦正在考虑购买波音公司的“海神-8”海上巡逻机，以加强对北极地区的监视。挪威和英国（丹麦在联合远征军中的伙伴国）以及邻国德国都已在使用这种飞机。

据报道，伦德·波尔森在1月份表示，丹麦多年来疏于投资舰船和飞机以监视丹麦王国，目前正在努力解决这个问题。美国总统唐纳德·特朗普曾多次表示希望吞并格陵兰岛，格陵兰岛是丹麦的自治领土。

丹麦还将在格陵兰岛东部设立空中预警雷达，并与努克港务公司（Sikuki Nuuk Harbour A/S）合作，在格陵兰岛努克港建立一个专用海军码头，长度约150米，水深约10米。计划还包括在格陵兰岛和丹麦之间铺设海底电缆。

这个北欧国家拨款21亿克朗用于建设无人机监视和反无人机能力。上个月，丹麦在其领空遭遇多次不明无人机飞行后，请求北约盟国提供反无人机支持，以确保在哥本哈根举行的欧洲峰会的安全。

丹麦将采购44辆新型步兵战车，放弃了此前升级相同数量现有CV90战车的计划。此外，丹麦此前已宣布从BAE系统公司采购115辆新型CV90战车。丹麦国防部表示，计划逐步淘汰现有车辆，并尽可能将其用作备件。

鲁迪·鲁伊滕贝格是《防务新闻》的欧洲记者。他的职业生涯始于彭博新闻社，拥有报道科技、大宗商品市场和政治方面的经验。