Feature: Denmark drives procurement amid heightened Arctic security concerns

Denmark's Jaeger Corps' ARK SPEC patrolling Greenland's Blosseville Coast in October 2025, when weather conditions can be unpredictable and severe. (Danish Defence)

Denmark increased its defence spending directed at both the Arctic and North Atlantic in response to emerging and existing security threats and shifting geopolitical dynamics. In October 2025, Denmark announced an additional USD4.2 billion of funding to strengthen regional security, including in Greenland. As of February 2026, concerns persisted about whether this increase was enough.

Danish defence procurement was “guided by 1.5% of the country's GDP,” said chief of defence General Michael Wiggers Hyldgaard at the Danish Defence Annual Conference (DDAC) 2026 in Copenhagen on 6 February. “The task is 3.5% [of GDP]. So, there is a lag,” Gen Hyldgaard added. He reiterated a sentiment which has become familiar among NATO officials since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine: “I need state-of-the-art systems. I also need low-cost and scalable solutions to be produced at great scale and speed.”

Denmark was one of five NATO founding members considered to be an Arctic state. On 11 February, NATO's Allied Command Operations (ACO) launched its Arctic Sentry enhanced Vigilance Activity (eVA). Led by Joint Force Command Norfolk (JFC Norfolk), it aimed to improve security in the High North. ACO intended to use Arctic Sentry to combine overarching activities, with the Norway-led Exercise ‘Cold Response' 2026, and Denmark-led ‘Arctic Endurance' 2026 initially falling under this framework.

Annually, the Danish Ministry of Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organisation (DALO) prepared an acquisition plan that outlined intended investment for the Danish Armed Forces (Forsvaret) in the short, medium and long term, Grith Sandst Poulsen, deputy director general of DALO and head of its material staff, told Janes on 6 February at the DDAC 2026.