Denmark plans to spend roughly 27.4 billion Danish kroner ($4.26bn) in an effort to shore up its defence capabilities in the Arctic and stave off threats made by United States President Donald Trump against the Danish semi-autonomous Greenland.
The massive cash injection in defence will cover the purchase of two additional Arctic vessels, a new Arctic command headquarters, a North Atlantic undersea cable and maritime patrol aircraft, the Danish Ministry of Defence said Friday.
Denmark’s military also plans to acquire 16 additional F-35 advance fighter jets, bringing its total fleet to 43 in a move that Chief of Defence Michael Hyldgaard called an “assertion of sovereignty”.
The new jets, he added, will “significantly” boost “the combat power, flexibility and Danish contribution to NATO”