Denmark Confirms Purchase of 10 Additional F-35 Jets and EU-Backed Patriot Aid for Ukraine

Published:

July 9, 2025

Updated:

July 9, 2025

Denmark Confirms Purchase of 10 Additional F-35 Jets and EU-Backed Patriot Aid for Ukraine

U.S Air National Guard photo by Senior Airman Addie Peterson

Denmark’s defence ministry has moved to expand its combat-air and air-defence posture with two closely linked decisions reached in Washington this week. Copenhagen will order at least ten extra F-35A fighters and will co-sponsor a European purchase of ten Patriot batteries that will be transferred to Kyiv once delivery slots are secured. Together the moves push Denmark’s 2025-2026 defence outlays above the 3 percent-of-GDP level already approved by parliament in February, while easing Ukraine’s most urgent request for layered missile defence.

Minister of Defence Troels Lund Poulsen confirmed the fighter expansion during a public forum hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He told Danish broadcaster TV 2 that “at least ten aircraft” will be added to the current programme, bringing the fleet “close to forty.” No dollar figure was released, but officials said the letter of offer and acceptance should reach Lockheed Martin before October.

The Royal Danish Air Force now fields a small but growing Lightning II force:

15 F-35A delivered to Skrydstrup Air Base
6 jets assigned to pilot training in the United States
6 more on firm order for delivery by end-2026
New request: at least 10 extra jets, contract signature expected this autumn

Procurement planners expect first delivery slots for the add-on batch in the Lot 19 production run that begins 2029. Unit recurring fly-away cost for Lot 17 aircraft averaged $82.5 million; analysts caution that Technology Refresh 3 hardware keeps upward pressure on later lots, so Denmark’s bill could exceed $900 million before spares, support, and sustaining engineering.

Extra combat aircraft align with Copenhagen’s February acceleration fund that injected 50 billion DKK ($7 billion) over two years. The measure pushes military spending past 3 percent of GDP in 2025-26 and waives several procurement hurdles, allowing direct contracts without prolonged competitions.

Industry executives note that Denmark gains more than airframes. Lot 19 aircraft will carry the AN/APG-85 radar and the Block 4 mission-system package, giving frontline Norwegian and Dutch squadrons common software loads and easing Nordic logistics. According to programme Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation data, sustainment remains the dominant expense: the U.S. estimate for F-35A cost-per-flight-hour in 2025 is $42,000, well below 2020 figures but still higher than F-16 levels.

While the fighter deal grabs headlines, the bigger diplomatic play concerns Patriot. Poulsen said talks in Washington produced a tentative framework under which several unnamed European states will pool funds, buy ten U.S.-built Patriot PAC-3 MSE batteries, and transfer them to Ukraine under a multinational trust mechanism. Defence officials confirm that Denmark will act as contracting lead for at least three of those batteries.

German and Dutch participation appears likely. Berlin has been in “intensive talks” with Washington on redirecting new-build Patriots to Kyiv, and Chancellor Friedrich Merz raised the idea with President Donald Trump during a 5 July call, according to a senior German aide.

What’s being discussed now:

10 complete Patriot batteries (radar, command post, 8 launchers each)
First four systems drawn from early-2027 U.S. Army production lots
Remaining six allocated across 2028-2029 factory capacity
Initial shipment of 480 PAC-3 MSE interceptors, with follow-on option for 600 more

Washington’s stance shifted on 8 July when President Trump, moments before a White House dinner with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told reporters “we have to send more weapons” and singled out defensive systems as the priority. The Pentagon later confirmed that new aid packages would include surface-to-air missiles.

Ukraine’s general staff lists Patriot as its only proven defence against Russian Kinzhal and Iskander ballistic missiles. Kyiv now operates two U.S. batteries and one German-Dutch joint battery; interceptors are rationed. Zelenskyy’s office described the prospect of ten extra batteries as “a strategic shield” during pre-summit talks in Rome on 9 July.

Demand is rising faster than Raytheon’s current output. NATO ministers this week acknowledged that money alone will not fix a decade-long missile-production gap; assembly lines need skilled labour and new tooling. Lockheed Martin, which builds the PAC-3 MSE missile, plans a second production cell in Camden, Arkansas by late-2026, doubling annual throughput to about 650 interceptors.

Denmark will finance its portion of the Patriot buy through the same 50 billion-DKK acceleration budget line that pays for the additional F-35s. Treasury officials said the outlay fits within the envelope because the payments are spread across five fiscal years starting 2026.

Beyond fighters and missiles, Copenhagen has opened negotiations with Oslo to lease flight hours on Norway’s P-8A Poseidon maritime-patrol fleet. Officials call the setup cost-effective, letting Denmark avoid a full-fleet purchase while restoring long-range sea-surveillance capacity that lapsed when the Challenger fleet aged out.

The P-8 tie-up also supports Denmark’s Arctic policy. Norwegian aircraft already fly sorties over the Greenland-Iceland-UK gap, and a shared mission pool lets Copenhagen cover its slice of the High North without fielding a dedicated squadron. Arctic specialists at Aalborg University say the step meets surveillance needs and keeps crew experience current.

Surging capital projects are possible only because Denmark broke the traditional NATO 2-percent rule. February’s legislation moves outlays to 3 percent in nominal terms – about $11 billion this year – making Denmark one of only five NATO members above that bar.

Lockheed Martin will deliver the new F-35s with Technology Refresh 3 hardware installed at Fort Worth. Sustainment support, including engine depot work, will continue at the emerging European Regional Maintenance Centre in the Netherlands, limiting downtime and ferry costs for Danish jets. Program officials note that reduced ferry hours offset part of the higher operating-cost delta between F-35 and legacy F-16 fleets.

Training capacity will expand as well. Six Danish F-35As now stationed at Luke Air Force Base will remain there until 2027, providing instructor bandwidth for the extra pilots required by a forty-jet fleet. Denmark also plans to assign two pilots to the U.S. Air Force Weapons School from 2026 onward to accelerate tactics development for mixed Pacific and Baltic scenarios.

Logistics chiefs have flagged spares. Industry data put spare-parts allocation for Denmark’s original 27-jet programme at 8 percent of aircraft procurement cost; planners now aim to lift that share to 12 percent in the follow-on order to cushion supply disruptions.

NATO air planners view the Danish expansion as a force-multiplier on the Baltic flank. A single F-35A cell from Skrydstrup can reach the Suwałki gap in 35 minutes, coordinate with Polish ground-based Patriot batteries, and prosecute cruise-missile threats without relying on U.S. enablers.

Recent decision milestones (9-10 July):

Denmark confirms intent to order ten additional F-35As (TV 2 interview).
European allies agree in principle on ten Patriot batteries for Ukraine (Poulsen remarks, CSIS).
President Trump announces U.S. will resume and expand weapons shipments to Kyiv (White House press pool).

Taken together, Denmark’s twin moves mark a clear break from incremental upgrades. The extra fighters secure air-superiority mass through 2040, while the Patriot deal shows that smaller NATO members can still broker high-impact aid once procurement rules are streamlined. Europe gains a clearer path to closing its air-defence gap, and Ukraine stands to receive the first new Patriot batteries before the end of 2027 – sooner than any prior forecast.

Denmark Confirms Purchase of 10 Additional F-35 Jets and EU-Backed Patriot Aid for Ukraine

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