Scandals blight military buildup
A series of scandals has blighted Denmark’s Armed Forces at a time when the Scandinavian country and member of the NATO alliance is building up its defenc- es, chiefly as a response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The events have so far led to the dismissal last week of Denmark’s top military chief, Gen. Flemming Lentfer, who failed to inform the defence minister about an incident on the frigate HDMS Iver Huitfeldt last month while deployed to the Red Sea, where it was part of a U.S.-led operation to defend commercial shipping against Houthi militants.
On Thursday, a technical error on-board its sister ship, the frigate HDMS Niels Juel that was docked in a Danish harbour, led to the air space and maritime route being briefly closed due to fears a navy missile might launch unintentionally — but not explode — and send fragments falling into the busy shipping lane between the islands of Zeeland, where Copenhagen sits, and Funen.
The Iver Huitfeldt, which returned from its Red Sea mission on Thursday, ahead of schedule, reportedly experienced a half-hour long malfunction of its missile and radar systems during a drone attack on March 9, according to the specialist defence news website Olfi.
“I have lost trust in the chief of defence,” the defence minister said briefly without elaborating why he fired Lentfer on Wednesday. Maj. Gen Michael Hyldgaard was appointed as his replacement.
The firing of Lentner was “the culmination of so many years of deep crisis,” Martin Krasnik, the editor- in-chief of the weekly Weekendavisen wrote Friday. “The pitiful state of defence management, the unclear division of roles and, to a particular extent, political irresponsibility have led to the fact that Denmark has no defence today. We cannot defend a meagre frigate, and we cannot contribute meaningfully to NATO’s defence.”
Peter Viggo Jakobsen, an associate professor with the Royal Danish Defense College, agreed with Krasnik that “there are many problems” in Danish defence, chiefly because spending was reduced in 2012 and Denmark has been “very slow at coming up again.”
“It starts to show now. We will see breakdowns more and more often,” Jakobsen told The Associated Press.
Olfi cited a leaked document written by the com- mander of the Iver Huitfeldt that the problem with the missile and radar systems had been known for years. The frigate eventually fended off the attack by the Iran-backed Houthis, shooting down four drones with guns.