COPENHAGEN, Denmark (CN) — Family, friends and colleagues stood on dry land with big smiles, waving Danish flags and ready to welcome the military crew of the frigate Iver Huitfeldt anchoring in Korsør harbor 111 kilometers (69 miles) outside of Copenhagen on Thursday.
What should have been a day of celebration has been substituted with one of worry and confusion for Denmark's political leaders as military-focused niche news site Olfi revealed this week that the Iver Huitfeldt experienced a malfunction in the Red Sea while fighting the Houthi movement last month.
For 30 minutes the crew could not launch launch its air defense missile, Iver Huitfeldt’s vital main defense system, as the ship’s radar system failed while combatting Houthi drone strikes at the Red Sea. The frigate eventually downed four drones, but information about the malfunction did not reach Denmark’s defense minister Troels Lund Poulsen until Monday when Olfi requested a comment.
The affair is just the latest, and perhaps the most serious, story concerning the Danish military that has endured decades of neglect until recently when the government decided to prioritize at least 2% of the nation’s GDP to meet NATO’s request amid Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Danish media have previously reported on outdated material, weapon purchases that exceeded budgets and mold-filled housing provided for military personnel. And military salaries have not followed inflating living costs for years.
The reports led to the sacking of Defense Chief Flemming Lentfer on Wednesday evening, with Poulsen saying at a press conference he had “lost trust” in Lentfer.
Peter Viggo Rasmussen, lecturer at the Royal Danish Defense College, told the Danish newspaper Berlingske the defense chief is responsible for ensuring that outbound units are prepared and ready to fulfill tasks. And Poulsen should have at the least been briefed about the issue Iver Huitfeldt faced at the Red Sea, Viggo said.
“After all, it shows that we have a system that doesn't work,” he said, highlighting apparent internal communication issues between the Danish defense forces and the ministry.
Back in Korsør at Thursday’s arrival of the Iver Huitfeldt, its captain Sune Lund told broadcaster TV2 that the 30-minute breakdown was undramatic yet unsatisfactory for the crew.
“It is highly unsatisfactory that a system can lock for 30 minutes. If it had been a different operative context, then it could have been decisive in the battle,” he said.
The frigate took part in a mission named “Operation Prosperity Guardian” alongside international partners, protecting maritime traffic at the Red Sea from attacks by the Yemeni Houthi movement.
The militant movement is targeting ships it claims to be affiliated with Israel amid the war against Hamas in Gaza, blocking vessels from easy entry between Europe and Asia via Egypt’s Suez Canal and causing international disruption in cargo delivery.
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