Following a month-long review, the Danish Parliament has approved the Government's recommendation to acquire 27 F-35As. Denmark becomes the 7th partner nation and 11th nation overall to buy the F-35.
The government and the Social Democrats, the Danish People's Party, Liberal Alliance and the Social Liberal Party have agreed on the acquisition of new fighter aircraft to replace the current F-16 aircraft.
The Danish DoD's New Fighter Program Office evaluated the three participating fighter aircraft (Eurofighter Typhoon, F-35A Joint Strike Fighter and the F/A-18F Super Hornet) in strategic, military, economic and industrial conditions. In all four evaluation areas F-35A Joint Strike Fighter is rated higher than the other fighter aircraft (see our earlier story).
According to the the Danish Government's official statement:
"With the F-16 aircraft’s usage pattern, it is expected that the last F-16 aircraft is phased out by the end of 2024. The phasing in of the Joint Strike Fighter aircraft is expected go on for a period of six years (2021-2026). The delivery plan enables that the national tasks can be solved independently with a new fighter aircraft from 2024. This means that rejection preparedness will be maintained continuously.
"The purchase amount accumulated over the phase-in period is about 20 billion kroner ($AUD4.1 billion).
"The parties agree that the Danish fighter aircraft will continue to operate from Skrydstrup, which will be rebuilt and prepared to receive F-35 fighter jets.
"It is further noted that the parties behind the defence agreement may decide to acquire more aircraft within the defence’s economic framework."