COPENHAGEN, Denmark (CN) — It seemed like a proud moment for the Danish Armed Forces, after media reports of guns that don't fire and moldy barracks.
More than a dozen crewmembers eye various screens dotting the control room of the Iver Huitfeldt battleship with predatorial focus, in a video released by the Danish Armed Forces.
Outside, four armed drones — launched separately over the course of an hour by the Yemeni Houthi militant group — approach the frigate in the Red Sea on a Saturday morning in early April.
A white, oval-shaped object breezing above the dark waters is maneuvered into the center of the crosshairs on screen.
“Puff, puff, puff, puff!”
The monitor lights up white before a drone crashes into the dark ocean.
Victorious yells and applause — the routine repeats itself as the crew downs each of the four drones.
“I am proud that the ship and crew have done what they were sent out to do in a professional manner, namely, to protect free navigation,” said Flemming Lentfer, then chief of the Danish Armed Forces, in a press release shortly after the incident.
But what was crafted as a success story would soon turn catastrophic for the chief more than three years into his tenure, in a sign of the state of Denmark's armed forces.
At a news conference in early April, Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen announced the departure of Army Chief Flemming Lentfer after reports that the military's news release left out important details about the downing of Houthi drones.
Quoting an anonymous source from the institution, Danish military niche news site Olfi reported that the frigate couldn't launch its defense missile system due to a radar failure.
For 30 minutes, the Iver Huitfeldt and its crew were nearly defenseless during a combat mission. Poulsen first learned of this from Olfi weeks after the incident, with the Danish press questioning why no military leaders had briefed him about the dangerous situation.
“Other countries must look in amazement and say: What is happening?” said Jesper Korsgaard Hansen, chairman of Centralforeningen for Stampersonel, Denmark’s biggest union for military personnel, to newswire Ritzau.
“How can it be that the Danes can't figure it out when you can figure it out everywhere else?” he said about solving ongoing problems facing the armed forces.
The Danish Armed Forces are not in the best shape.
In recent years, Danish media have exposed various issues in the institution.
Mold-filled walls, toilets that can’t flush and showers without hot water haunt barracks around the country, broadcaster DR reported in January.
Danish inspection vessels have patrolled the Arctic for 15 years equipped with cannons that can't shoot due to an incomplete weapon system, freedom of information requests showed.
And NATO has criticized Denmark’s efforts to meet the military alliance's standards — especially the lack of military investment.
Like other countries in the European Union, Denmark neglected its military after the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, ending the Cold War.
The Nordic country is in the bottom third of NATO members when it comes to the percentage of GDP spent on the military. With only 1.65% of GDP dedicated to defense, Denmark is still far from reaching NATO’s 2% minimum spending guideline.
“Denmark is probably not top of the class if we talk about living up to NATO requirements,” Kristian Søby Kristensen, director and senior researcher at the Center for Military Studies at the University of Copenhagen, told Courthouse News.
“The first reason for this is the long-term underfunding, and the second is the political leadership in Denmark, which had reorganized the Danish Armed Forces to meet global security needs more than a regional threat,” Kristensen said.
Europe’s security situation took a sharp turn when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
NATO expectations are a political hot potato in Denmark, as demands to boost defense budgets keep increasing. The country, already left behind, is playing a game of catch up that is hard to adjust to.
“In many ways, Denmark’s situation is comparable with that of Germany. Both countries are embarrassingly conscious about the new security situation, and politicians are ready to invest in what is necessary to take responsibility,” Kristensen said. “All the while, it is a big task to reorganize their armed forces to do what is now expected from them.”
At first glance, Denmark can seem like a small, insignificant ally. In reality, its role in the unity of the Danish Realm — which includes the Faroe Islands northwest of the United Kingdom, and Greenland in North America — currently dictates security and foreign affairs for all three parts of the realm.
As Arctic glaciers melt, direct sea routes between Russia and the U.S. could emerge. This is where Greenland, the world's largest island, plays a vital role, with Denmark by its side. Recent events expose questions as to whether the Nordic country is prepared to take on this task.
Kristensen said it is important to look at the sudden shift in Denmark’s security situation. As in decades past , Denmark’s reputation as a competent international ally remains true. Strong support of U.S. interventions in the Middle East offers an example.
“The Danish Armed Forces have been better than their Nordic neighbors to adapt and operate in a global context,” he said. “Therefore, Denmark’s shift to reorganize its armed forces for collective defense in Denmark's neighboring areas is bigger than Norway’s, Sweden’s and Finland’s, which had never given up the idea of maintaining their territorial defense.”
With many other NATO members striving to meet the alliance requirements, Denmark is thrown into a global competition to purchase the same military equipment as everyone else, which can prolong the Nordic country’s attempt to catch up to NATO standards.
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