Denmark

Defence Budget

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Denmark is exceeding its spending targets, with the 2026 budget more than three times higher than that of 2021. In 2025, Denmark spent 3.2 percent of GDP on defence, and the Ministry of Defence expects to meet NATO’s spending goal of 3.5 percent of GDP on defence, as well as an additional 1.5 per cent on other security-related expenditure within a few years. Since spending plans, most notably for the Navy, have yet to be costed, it is reasonable to assume that the Danish defence budget will surpass the 3.5 percent of GDP target for several years. It is worth noting that the figures for defence spending include Danish civil and military support for Ukraine. Denmark provides more support to Ukraine as a share of GDP than any other NATO country. This represents a significant sum, amounting to 70 billion Danish kroner (9 billion euros).

Increased defence spending enjoys widespread support among the Danish public. With little opposition to the overall spending goal, there is broad debate about how the allocated funds are utilised. Recently, public discussion has focused on the absence of a national security strategy or a military strategic concept to guide expenditure. Various interest groups are lobbying vigorously to include innovation or industrial policy considerations in the defence budget, which increases pressure to define priorities to manage expectations.

Recently, the fact that Denmark is the top contributor to Ukraine, measured as a share of GDP, has sparked some debate—not about support for Ukraine, but about whether the support needs to be so large. The opposition clearly sees this as a way to challenge the government on its ability to deliver on welfare as well as defence, and with parliamentary elections scheduled for 2026, there is reason to expect this debate to gain momentum. While this probably means that the government will not present increased spending expectations on defence before the Danes go to the polls, the debate concerns priorities rather than commitments, either to Ukraine or to spending in general. 

Denmark has a political agreement on defence spending and procurement priorities for 2023 to 2033; the associated expenditure has been budgeted and will be made. The Ministry of Finance’s long-term budgeting assumes that the defence budget will stabilise at around 50 Bn. kroner (7 Bn euros), but, as mentioned above, there is reason to believe that the actual figures will be significantly higher, especially if support for Ukraine continues at its current level. In that case, supplementary budgets will need to be approved, but it is inconceivable that this would happen with strong opposition in Parliament.

Personnel

Denmark has professional armed forces that are supported by and recruited from conscripts. Parliament has introduced female conscription alongside the extension of service length to 11 months. The first recruits began their 11-month service in February 2026. Women turning 18 after July 2025 are required to present themselves for potential service.

According to the Defence Personnel Organisation, the armed forces employed 24,746 people in 2024, of whom 8,144 were civilians. The number of military personnel is expected to increase in the coming years. This figure does not include conscripts; it covers professional military personnel and civilian employees. Much has been made in the Danish debate of retention problems in the armed forces. However, despite a 20 per cent increase in the number of employees from 2015 to 2024, the number of personnel leaving their positions has remained at around 1,500. As a percentage of the workforce, the attrition rate has therefore decreased. Retention problems may nevertheless be serious in certain specialist functions. However, a turnover rate of 6 per cent—as was the case in the armed forces in 2024—is well within the norm for the Danish labour market.

Simultaneously, the armed forces are expanding their reserves – after operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, Denmark has developed a substantial pool of experienced and well-trained soldiers, commissioned officers, and non-commissioned officers who can be integrated into the reserves.

Building up reserve forces and managing a substantial increase in the number of conscripts, along with the expansion of their training, will put considerable strain on manpower and base infrastructure. The armed forces have initiated public-private partnerships to build new accommodation for conscripts and professionals at various bases, but it will in all likelihood take years to complete this build-up.

Land Warfare

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Driven by NATO targets, the army is focused on developing a heavy brigade, deployable with a full complement of artillery, air defence, etc. The army is investing in capabilities across a broad spectrum – from small arms to artillery. These investments are mission-focused, with the primary goal of equipping the brigade and its follow-on forces for sustained operations in the field over a considerable period.

The army is focusing on developing its capability to deploy the brigade to Latvia as a part of NATO’s forward presence in the Baltic. As a part of an increased forward presence in the Baltic, the army is standing up a regiment on the island of Bornholm in the Baltic. In 2025, the regiment received the first of 129 Patria armoured personnel carriers.

The army is thus committed to deploying its forces as a part of the defence of the Baltic countries and contributing to the defence of Danish territories in the Baltic. This is a continuation of the army’s experience with extraterritorial deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan. Still, the type of forces prepared for deployment is, this time, much heavier and is supposed to be capable of conducting combined arms operations.

Drones

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The armed forces clearly see drones as a key part of future warfare and recognise that drone technology is advancing rapidly, requiring investments to focus on innovation rather than one-time purchases. Therefore, they are acquiring drones (such as the JUMP20 surveillance drones introduced in 2025) while also investing in research and development. The 1,200-square-metre Defence Drone Centre was opened in November 2025 in Odense, in collaboration with the local university.

The armed forces anticipate deploying drones across all domains and for various missions. A significant part of the discussion regarding the future of the fleet has been to what extent drones should supplement or potentially even replace surface combatants. 

There is a significant domestic production of drones. As with most of the Danish defence industry, this is a highly innovative ecosystem consisting mainly of small and medium-sized firms, many of which only entered the sector after the Ukraine War began in 2022.

A significant question remains as to the extent to which drones are to be integrated into the Navy’s future operations. The lessons from the Ukraine war would suggest that large surface vessels are in danger of becoming obsolete in brown-water conditions such as those in the Baltic Sea.