Denmark has taken a decisive step toward rebuilding its ground-based air defence capabilities, signing a contract valued at approximately €500 million for a permanent fleet of NASAMS (Norwegian Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System) units. The agreement, concluded by the Danish Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organisation (FMI), secures deliveries from Norway’s Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace (KDA).
This marks the first permanent procurement under Denmark’s effort to re-establish a modern ground-based air defence shield. According to FMI, the newly signed contract transitions Denmark from a temporary stopgap arrangement to a long-term, NATO-interoperable solution designed to meet current and future threat environments.
Colonel Jan Toft, Program Director for Ground-Based Air Defence, described the contract as a significant milestone: “Today we have reached an important milestone for the Danish ground-based air defence. I am very satisfied that we are now moving toward a permanent solution with a system capable of meeting Denmark’s operational needs.”
The permanent acquisition follows a July 2025 agreement in which Denmark secured a temporary NASAMS system through a leasing arrangement with Norway. That interim solution was established while work on defining and acquiring a permanent system was underway.
Under the leasing deal, the Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency provided a used NASAMS unit that was tested and serviced at Ørland Air Base prior to transfer. Danish air defence personnel were trained in Norway to ensure operational readiness. At the time, Colonel Jan Toft highlighted the speed enabled by Nordic cooperation, calling it “a good example of how our neighbouring partnerships also reinforce defence collaboration.”
The NASAMS system, jointly developed by Kongsberg and Raytheon, is a network-centric, highly mobile air defence architecture capable of engaging multiple targets simultaneously and beyond visual range. It integrates seamlessly into national Integrated Air and Missile Defence (IAMD) structures and has been continuously upgraded since its introduction in Norway.
A standard NASAMS unit includes:
- A command post (Fire Distribution Center, FDC)
- Active 3D radar (Raytheon AN/MPQ-64F1 Sentinel)
- Passive electro-optical and infrared sensors
- Multiple canister launchers equipped with AMRAAM missiles
The system’s modular design allows flexible configuration for missions such as air base protection, port defence, coverage of populated areas, and the safeguarding of high-value assets. NASAMS has proven interoperability with systems like Patriot and can deploy dispersed elements over distances exceeding 20 km to extend coverage and increase survivability.
Recent enhancements include the AMRAAM Extended Range missile (AMRAAM-ER), which expands engagement volume, and the AIM-9X-2 for short-range defence. The system’s open architecture allows integration of future radars, sensors, and effectors—including counter-UAS and C-RAM capabilities.
NASAMS has been in continuous operation protecting Washington, D.C., since 2005, demonstrating high reliability across arctic, tropical, and desert environments. Globally, 13 countries operate NASAMS air defence units, and 15 have adopted its command-and-control solution.
A Strategic Investment in Danish Security
With this permanent acquisition, Denmark positions itself to restore a capability gap that has existed for years, enhancing national and NATO-integrated air defence coverage. The contract also reflects the broader Nordic defence cooperation that has intensified since regional security dynamics shifted in recent years.
The FMI expects additional urgent procurements to follow, as Denmark modernizes and scales its ground-based air and missile defence architecture.
