Back in July, Denmark had signed urgent, stop-gap contracts for the procurement of ground based air defence Fire Units. In order to put the systems into service quickly, 3 different systems, from 3 different suppliers, were selected: the IRIS T SLM from Germany’s Diehl, the NASAMS from Norway’s Kongsberg and the MICA Vertical Launch from MBDA France.

In July, Denmark had rapidly secured a single IRIS-T SLM Fire Unit (launcher, radar and engagement control post vehicles) but has now signed a follow-on contract for an unspecified number of systems to follow as “definitive” solution. While the number is not official, it is understood the contract is for 5 more Fire Units, leading to a total of 6. In the IRIS-T SLM system, which has a range of circa 40 km, Diehl delivers the launcher and the IRIS-T missiles, while HENSOLDT provides the TRML-4D multi-functional radar. The Integrated Battle Management Software Fire Control (IBMS-FC) for the command post is made by Airbus.

Note that, by design, a single Fire Unit could field 3 launchers with each radar and command post, although this is not always done.

Denmark has in any case decided to keep all 3 missile types and in the space of days has signed follow-up contracts also with Kongsberg (3 permanent NASAMS units following on the July 2025 lease for one) and with MBDA for the MICA VL (2 fire units ordered in July, “a number” in the new contract), crystallizing a most fragmented situation in which 3 very different systems will operate simultaneously. The Kongsberg order has a given value of 500 million euro.

Interestingly, the US State Department also published its authorization for the Netherlands to procure 2 Integrated Battle Command System (IBCS) Engagement Operations Centers; 2 IBCS Integrated Collaborative Environments; and 6 IBCS Integrated Fire Control Network relays, as well as 2 Sentinel A4 radars and 8 Indirect Fire Protection Capability Increment 2 launchers.

The IFPC Inc 2 launchers, produced by Leidos with its subsidiary, Dynetics, are demountable container-footprint platforms which are loaded with All-Up Round Magazines (AUR-M) produced by Raytheon, each of which has 18 cells each containing a SIDEWINDER 9X missile. 24 AUR-Ms are included in the US authorization.

Denmark, in other words, had investigated the US SHORAD solution as an alternative to the European systems, exactly as it had considered PATRIOT as alternative to the MBDA SAMP-T (Aster missile) it eventually selected for its long range requirement. 

The US authorization in this case will most likely not lead to any contract, having Denmark decided to follow not one, but 3 alternative roads all the same time.

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