· On January 27th, a new partial agreement under the Danish defense settlement was launched, focusing on the defense of the Arctic and the North Atlantic. The agreement includes measures of over DKK 14 billion for i.a. three new Arctic ships, extra long-range drones, and strengthened satellite capacity. It was informed that a second partial agreement will be negotiated for the Arctic in 2025.
· On March 25th, the Danish Ministry of Defense announced the speeding-up of various defense initiatives through an acceleration fund. This includes investment in capacity for aerial refueling, a prerequisite for fighter jet operations in the Arctic and the North Atlantic.
· On March 30th, the Danish government launched a new fleet plan. This plan suggests rapidly acquiring new equipment for the surveillance of critical subsea infrastructure, 21 new vessels for the Danish Navy Home Guard, and four new ocean vessels, as well as implementing a development program for drones and other autonomous units for surveillance on and under the ocean surface.
· The fleet plan also includes a long-term path to facilitate possible acquisitions of new frigates and ships for the Arctic and the North Atlantic. It will also be analyzed whether Denmark should enter into cooperation with other countries regarding icebreaker capacity.
· The Frederiksen government presented its first proposal for the now ongoing defense settlement in May 2023. The proposal called for investments of DKK 143 billion with a focus on defense in the Arctic and the Baltic Sea. Prior to this, Denmark received criticism from NATO for delays and lack of investment in military capabilities in different domains.