Denmark Orders 16 More F-35s to Strengthen Combat Power and Arctic Deterrence
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Denmark approved funding to buy 16 additional F-35s, taking the future Royal Danish Air Force inventory to 43 aircraft and triggering talks with the F-35 Joint Program Office on accelerated delivery. Copenhagen paired the move with a multi-billion-dollar Arctic package that adds an HQ in Nuuk and new surveillance and maritime assets, signaling a faster, heavier Danish role in NATO’s northern deterrence.
On 10 October 2025, Denmark moved to expand its fifth-generation air fleet and harden Arctic vigilance with a government agreement to buy 16 additional F-35 fighter jets, taking the future Royal Danish Air Force inventory to 43 aircraft. The decision follows months of heightened hybrid threats in Nordic airspace and at critical infrastructure, and it signals a rapid scaling of Denmark’s contribution to NATO’s northern posture, as reported by the Danish MoD. The ministry said it will immediately enter talks with the F-35 Joint Program Office on delivery options to speed up force growth and training pipelines. The package is paired with a separate plan to reinforce defense capabilities across Greenland and the North Atlantic, underlining the strategic weight Copenhagen places on Arctic security.
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By pairing a larger fifth-generation F-35 fleet with Arctic command, surveillance and connectivity upgrades, Copenhagen is not just adding aircraft; it is building a more integrated, harder-to-deteriorate defensive lattice from Greenland to the Baltic, one that complicates Russian Air and Navy planning and raises the cost of hybrid coercion across the region (Picture source: U.S. Air Force)
The F-35A selected by Denmark combines low-observable design with fused sensors, an AESA radar, distributed aperture system and advanced datalinks that turn the jet into a persistent intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and strike node. Denmark’s expansion plan explicitly adds threat simulators, flight simulators, training instrumentation, braking parachutes for Nordic runways, deployment kits, facilities and staffing to sustain higher sortie rates. In a noteworthy addition, the MoD’s package also introduces Collaborative Combat Aircraft, unmanned “loyal wingmen” designed to operate under the tactical control of an F-35 pilot as forward sensors or weapons carriers, anticipating manned-unmanned teaming at scale.
Operationally, Denmark’s F-35 transition has advanced quickly since the first jets arrived at Fighter Wing Skrydstrup in October 2023. By 1 April 2025, F-35s were cleared to stand Quick Reaction Alert alongside F-16s for national air defense, with full operational capability targeted for 2027. Today, Denmark has 15 F-35s in country and a further six forward-based at a U.S. training location; deliveries from the initial 27-jet order continue through 2026. The additional 16 aircraft are intended to compress this ramp-up by backfilling training, maintenance and operational squadrons sooner.
Against peer European fighters, the F-35’s principal advantage for Denmark is its combination of survivability and sensor fusion that shortens the “find-fix-finish” cycle over the Baltic and North Atlantic. Compared with non-stealth designs such as Eurofighter or Rafale, or lighter designs such as Gripen E, the F-35 is optimized to penetrate and persist in contested electromagnetic environments while sharing a high-fidelity picture across joint forces. For Denmark’s mission sets, air policing, cruise-missile defense, maritime strike and targeting support, the jet’s ability to passively detect, classify and hand off targets to surface, subsurface and allied air assets is decisive. Those attributes also make it a force multiplier for naval integrated air and missile defense from Danish frigates and for allied long-range fires, sharpening the country’s role in NATO’s northern integrated air and missile defense architecture.
The strategic implications are immediate. Denmark’s northern front has seen multiple recent drone incursions over airports, military sites and the wider North Sea energy basin, which Copenhagen and allies have framed as part of a broader hybrid pressure campaign. Airports including Copenhagen and Aalborg experienced temporary shutdowns, drones were observed near Karup Air Base, and NATO raised vigilance in the Baltic Sea region; Danish officials have briefed allies that state actors are suspected, even as attribution remains under assessment. In parallel, Danish authorities recently reported Russian naval and air provocations in the Danish straits, underscoring the need for credible air and maritime deterrence. A larger F-35 force, coupled with new Arctic investments such as an Arctic Command HQ in Nuuk, maritime patrol capabilities, drones and enhanced surveillance, improves Denmark’s ability to detect, attribute and, if required, interdict Russian air, naval and submarine activity from the Greenland-Iceland-UK gap to the Baltic approaches. It also tightens cross-domain kill chains by cueing allied P-8A patrol aircraft, surface combatants and subsurface assets with targeting data that is harder to deny or deceive.
On programmatics and budget, the government has set aside 29.0 billion Danish kroner for the 16 additional jets, while a parallel Arctic and North Atlantic reinforcement package totals 27.4 billion kroner to fund infrastructure, surveillance and presence across Greenland and the Faroe Islands. The MoD states that it will now negotiate details with the F-35 Joint Program Office, including the possibility of accelerated delivery windows. The prime contractor remains Lockheed Martin, with engines supplied by Pratt & Whitney under the established FMS framework; the most recent global production award, Lots 18–19 for up to 296 aircraft, was finalized between the JPO and Lockheed Martin on 29 September 2025, with deliveries beginning in 2026. Denmark’s follow-on order would be integrated through the same enterprise, with contracting timelines to be determined by those JPO negotiations.
The defense product’s operational history in Denmark is already anchored in sovereignty missions and alliance commitments, and the growth path now points to a more persistent, networked presence from the Baltic to the High North. A 43-strong F-35 fleet, augmented by CCA drones and supported by upgraded simulators, logistics and Arctic basing, will give Copenhagen the mass and resilience to deter, to respond rapidly to incursions, including the wave of drone incidents, and to close the seams adversaries seek to exploit across air, sea and sub-sea domains.
Denmark’s choice compresses timelines, closes capability gaps created by the F-16 phase-out and Ukraine transfers, and aligns national investments with NATO’s evolving posture in the north. By pairing a larger fifth-generation fleet with Arctic command, surveillance and connectivity upgrades, Copenhagen is not just adding aircraft; it is building a more integrated, harder-to-deteriorate defensive lattice from Greenland to the Baltic, one that complicates Russian Air and Navy planning and raises the cost of hybrid coercion across the region.
Written by Teoman S. Nicanci – Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Teoman S. Nicanci holds degrees in Political Science, Comparative and International Politics, and International Relations and Diplomacy from leading Belgian universities, with research focused on Russian strategic behavior, defense technology, and modern warfare. He is a defense analyst at Army Recognition, specializing in the global defense industry, military armament, and emerging defense technologies.
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Denmark approved funding to buy 16 additional F-35s, taking the future Royal Danish Air Force inventory to 43 aircraft and triggering talks with the F-35 Joint Program Office on accelerated delivery. Copenhagen paired the move with a multi-billion-dollar Arctic package that adds an HQ in Nuuk and new surveillance and maritime assets, signaling a faster, heavier Danish role in NATO’s northern deterrence.
On 10 October 2025, Denmark moved to expand its fifth-generation air fleet and harden Arctic vigilance with a government agreement to buy 16 additional F-35 fighter jets, taking the future Royal Danish Air Force inventory to 43 aircraft. The decision follows months of heightened hybrid threats in Nordic airspace and at critical infrastructure, and it signals a rapid scaling of Denmark’s contribution to NATO’s northern posture, as reported by the Danish MoD. The ministry said it will immediately enter talks with the F-35 Joint Program Office on delivery options to speed up force growth and training pipelines. The package is paired with a separate plan to reinforce defense capabilities across Greenland and the North Atlantic, underlining the strategic weight Copenhagen places on Arctic security.
By pairing a larger fifth-generation F-35 fleet with Arctic command, surveillance and connectivity upgrades, Copenhagen is not just adding aircraft; it is building a more integrated, harder-to-deteriorate defensive lattice from Greenland to the Baltic, one that complicates Russian Air and Navy planning and raises the cost of hybrid coercion across the region (Picture source: U.S. Air Force)
The F-35A selected by Denmark combines low-observable design with fused sensors, an AESA radar, distributed aperture system and advanced datalinks that turn the jet into a persistent intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and strike node. Denmark’s expansion plan explicitly adds threat simulators, flight simulators, training instrumentation, braking parachutes for Nordic runways, deployment kits, facilities and staffing to sustain higher sortie rates. In a noteworthy addition, the MoD’s package also introduces Collaborative Combat Aircraft, unmanned “loyal wingmen” designed to operate under the tactical control of an F-35 pilot as forward sensors or weapons carriers, anticipating manned-unmanned teaming at scale.
Operationally, Denmark’s F-35 transition has advanced quickly since the first jets arrived at Fighter Wing Skrydstrup in October 2023. By 1 April 2025, F-35s were cleared to stand Quick Reaction Alert alongside F-16s for national air defense, with full operational capability targeted for 2027. Today, Denmark has 15 F-35s in country and a further six forward-based at a U.S. training location; deliveries from the initial 27-jet order continue through 2026. The additional 16 aircraft are intended to compress this ramp-up by backfilling training, maintenance and operational squadrons sooner.
Against peer European fighters, the F-35’s principal advantage for Denmark is its combination of survivability and sensor fusion that shortens the “find-fix-finish” cycle over the Baltic and North Atlantic. Compared with non-stealth designs such as Eurofighter or Rafale, or lighter designs such as Gripen E, the F-35 is optimized to penetrate and persist in contested electromagnetic environments while sharing a high-fidelity picture across joint forces. For Denmark’s mission sets, air policing, cruise-missile defense, maritime strike and targeting support, the jet’s ability to passively detect, classify and hand off targets to surface, subsurface and allied air assets is decisive. Those attributes also make it a force multiplier for naval integrated air and missile defense from Danish frigates and for allied long-range fires, sharpening the country’s role in NATO’s northern integrated air and missile defense architecture.
The strategic implications are immediate. Denmark’s northern front has seen multiple recent drone incursions over airports, military sites and the wider North Sea energy basin, which Copenhagen and allies have framed as part of a broader hybrid pressure campaign. Airports including Copenhagen and Aalborg experienced temporary shutdowns, drones were observed near Karup Air Base, and NATO raised vigilance in the Baltic Sea region; Danish officials have briefed allies that state actors are suspected, even as attribution remains under assessment. In parallel, Danish authorities recently reported Russian naval and air provocations in the Danish straits, underscoring the need for credible air and maritime deterrence. A larger F-35 force, coupled with new Arctic investments such as an Arctic Command HQ in Nuuk, maritime patrol capabilities, drones and enhanced surveillance, improves Denmark’s ability to detect, attribute and, if required, interdict Russian air, naval and submarine activity from the Greenland-Iceland-UK gap to the Baltic approaches. It also tightens cross-domain kill chains by cueing allied P-8A patrol aircraft, surface combatants and subsurface assets with targeting data that is harder to deny or deceive.
On programmatics and budget, the government has set aside 29.0 billion Danish kroner for the 16 additional jets, while a parallel Arctic and North Atlantic reinforcement package totals 27.4 billion kroner to fund infrastructure, surveillance and presence across Greenland and the Faroe Islands. The MoD states that it will now negotiate details with the F-35 Joint Program Office, including the possibility of accelerated delivery windows. The prime contractor remains Lockheed Martin, with engines supplied by Pratt & Whitney under the established FMS framework; the most recent global production award, Lots 18–19 for up to 296 aircraft, was finalized between the JPO and Lockheed Martin on 29 September 2025, with deliveries beginning in 2026. Denmark’s follow-on order would be integrated through the same enterprise, with contracting timelines to be determined by those JPO negotiations.
The defense product’s operational history in Denmark is already anchored in sovereignty missions and alliance commitments, and the growth path now points to a more persistent, networked presence from the Baltic to the High North. A 43-strong F-35 fleet, augmented by CCA drones and supported by upgraded simulators, logistics and Arctic basing, will give Copenhagen the mass and resilience to deter, to respond rapidly to incursions, including the wave of drone incidents, and to close the seams adversaries seek to exploit across air, sea and sub-sea domains.
Denmark’s choice compresses timelines, closes capability gaps created by the F-16 phase-out and Ukraine transfers, and aligns national investments with NATO’s evolving posture in the north. By pairing a larger fifth-generation fleet with Arctic command, surveillance and connectivity upgrades, Copenhagen is not just adding aircraft; it is building a more integrated, harder-to-deteriorate defensive lattice from Greenland to the Baltic, one that complicates Russian Air and Navy planning and raises the cost of hybrid coercion across the region.
Written by Teoman S. Nicanci – Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Teoman S. Nicanci holds degrees in Political Science, Comparative and International Politics, and International Relations and Diplomacy from leading Belgian universities, with research focused on Russian strategic behavior, defense technology, and modern warfare. He is a defense analyst at Army Recognition, specializing in the global defense industry, military armament, and emerging defense technologies.
