Rearmament has become a government priority under Social Democrat prime minister Mette Frederiksen in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“The current security policy situation means that ground-based air defence is an absolute top priority in the development of the armed forces,” defence minister Troels Lund Poulsen said in a statement.

“Experience from Ukraine shows that ground-based air defence plays a crucial role in protecting the civilian population, among others, against Russian air attacks,” the minister added.

The ministry said the French-Italian SAMP/T system would be procured to cover long-range needs.

For medium-range needs, a choice would be made between “one or more systems” of the Norwegian NASAMS, the German IRIS-T, and the French VL MICA.

A total of eight systems, each comprising a number of fire units, would be purchased, and the first was expected to be operational as early as 2025.

The total cost related to the procurement was estimated at 58 billion kroner, which would need to be approved by Denmark’s parliament.

In June, Denmark decided to urgently procure medium-range air defence that would deliver results as quickly as possible.

Based on recommendations from the military, a decision had now been made to buy both long-range and medium-range systems, with the urgently procured medium-range system being part of it, the ministry said.

In a press conference, officials stressed that this investment does not imply a rejection of American systems.

“The speed of delivery was decisive here, and delivery timelines are longer for the Patriot system,” Per Pugholm, director of the Danish ministry of defence acquisition and logistics organisation, told reporters.