Denmark plans to replace the F-16MLUs with F-35s to meet its needs for national QRA and NATO’s Air Policing missions, but is also looking to support F-35 operations from Kangerlussuaq airport in Greenland.
The Danish Defense Command announced that three more F-35As arrived in the country at Skrydstrup Air Force Station, in the Southern Jutland region, on Jan. 12, 2025. The arrival of these aircraft takes the total Danish fleet to 17 aircraft, out of the total of 27 airframes ordered and delivered since 2021.
Danish F-35s arriving in-country
Of the 17 aircraft, 11 will be in Denmark while six will remain stationed at the U.S. Air Force’s Luke AFB in Arizona. In fact, as many of the F-35 partner countries, Denmark trains its pilots and ground crews in the United States before they return to their home country to perform operational tasks.
Travelling the “same route as the four aircraft that arrived in Dec. 2024,” the statement says the three jets took off from Luke AFB and, during their transoceanic flight, made a stop-over at Lajes Air Base in the Azores. The entire ferry flight from Luke to Skrydstrup lasted three days, with a total flight time of 16 hours and 52 minutes, according to the French Air and Space Force.
Yderligere tre nye F-35-kampfly er ankommet til Danmark i den forgangne weekend. Det danske skifte fra F-16 til F-35 holder tidsplanen. Læs mere: https://t.co/8R2fuB3hd2 #F35 #værdatkæmpefor pic.twitter.com/hTlBIfKXfV
— Forsvaret (@forsvaretdk) January 13, 2025
The images released show the aircraft’s tail numbers being L-002, L-003 and L-004, corresponding to the first aircraft delivered to the Royal Danish Air Force (RDAF). This could imply that the aircraft at Luke AFB were replaced by newer ones.
During the journey, the F-35s were refuelled by a French Airbus A330 MRTT (Multi Role Tanker Transport) Phénix aircraft. The French Air and Space Force said on X, releasing footage of the in-flight refueling seen from the boom operator’s console, that the A330 transferred 72 tons of fuel to the F-35s. “A fine illustration of inter-allied interoperability and cooperation between French and Danish aviators,” the post added.
3 jours, 16h42 de vol, 72 tonnes de carburant livrées : un Phénix A330 #MRTT 🇫🇷 a convoyé 3 #F35 🇩🇰 des États-Unis au Danemark. 🛫🤝 Une belle illustration de l’interopérabilité interalliée et de la coopération entre Aviateurs français et danois. pic.twitter.com/PnxePuJQbg
— Armée de l’Air et de l’Espace (@Armee_de_lair) January 14, 2025
The RDAF said that the F-35 will gradually replace the F-16 aircraft for the task of “maintaining rejection readiness,” referring to the QRA (Quick Reaction Alert) duties to protect the country’s airspace. “The F-35 will thus take on the task of having two aircraft ready to take off in a few minutes and reject foreign aircraft approaching Danish airspace” the release by the Defense Command explained.
Denmark’s F-35s and NATO QRAs
Denmark plans to use the F-35A from 2025 to replace all its ageing F-16A/B MLU aircraft, many of which have already found a new destination. In fact, the first F-16s received by Ukraine in Aug. 2024, part of a donation by multiple European countries which are retiring the fighter, were examples formerly belonging to the RDAF.
In Apr. 2024, Denmark signed a $300 million deal with Argentina for 24 F-16s to be operated by the FAA (Fuerza Aérea Argentina). The first ex-Danish F-16B reached Argentina’s El Palomar air base disassembled, carried by an FAA KC-130H transport plane, on Dec. 16, 2024. That agreement also included delivery of four flight simulators, eight engines and spare parts for the aircraft for five years.
During their service life, Danish F-16s had played a critical role in intercepting Russian military aircraft. One such mission, on Apr. 20, 2023, saw two RDAF F-16s, along with two Swedish Saab Gripens, intercepting a Russian Ilyushin Il-20M over the Baltic Sea, which was heading west from Kaliningrad.
“The Danish Air Force’s Quick Reaction Force consists of two aircraft that are on standby 24 hours a day at Skrydstrup Air Force Base in the south of Jutland. From here, the National Air Operations Center sends the planes up when Air Control Wing’s radar operators receive information of unidentified traffic in the immediate area,” the Defense Command said at the time. The F-35s will be employed in a similar way.
Danish 🇩🇰 F-16 based in Lithuania, have been in high demand the first month. In September they carried out 10 intercepts as part of their Baltic Air Policing: while supporting Allied training events increasing readiness and interoperability.
Read more: https://t.co/4hpIELz6mZ pic.twitter.com/t7UEW0p38S
— NATO Air Command (@NATO_AIRCOM) October 8, 2021
The first four Royal Danish Air Force F-35As landed at Skrydstrup on Sep. 14, 2023. The aircraft were the tail numbers L-007, 008, 009 and 010, which arrived straight from Lockheed Martin’s facility in Fort Worth, Texas, while the first six were delivered to Luke AFB. These aircraft, like the three F-35As now arrived in Denmark, sport the colored national roundel on the side of the air inlet, while the Dannebrog, the Danish flag, is painted on the tail fin, as reported by The Aviationist at the time of the first delivery.
In Mar. 2024, Danish F-35As and Swedish JAS-39 Gripen-Es trained together for the first time, in what was described as “one-to-one fighter manoeuvres and coordinated flying.” In a description of the F-35’s capabilities, Denmark says that, beside stealth and the internal weapons load, it “has an advanced and fused sensor package and, not least, has an unprecedented ability to utilize data and networks.”
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“The F-35 can identify and track other aircraft faster and at greater distances without being detected. It is a versatile aircraft that can perform missions alone that would previously require multiple aircraft with different specialties,” added the description. The Command then went on to stress the importance of connecting with ground, space and sea assets amid complex electromagnetic situations to share data.
Denmark upgrading infrastructure
Amid U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s ambitions of annexing the Danish semi-autonomous territory of Greenland, Copenhagen also announced plans to enhance its military presence there. Trump repeatedly claimed that the United States “need Greenland for national security purposes,” further hinting that he would not rule out the use of military force.
The U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken dismissed the claims, stating that Trump’s intentions about Greenland are unlikely to materialize. Similarly, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said she does not believe that Trump will not use military or economic measures to secure control over the Danish territory.
Denmark has limited military capabilities on the vast island, with only four ageing inspection vessels, a Challenger surveillance plane and 12 dog sleds – a traditional form of patrol dating back to World War II used by the Royal Danish Navy. Following more than a decade of cuts in defence spending, in 2024 Denmark finally set aside $26 billion to be spent on military upgrades over ten years, some of which will be for the Arctic.
Reports quoted local broadcasters DR and TV2 about the Danish government planning to upgrade the airport in Kangerlussuaq, a former U.S. military base in western Greenland, “to support F-35 fighter jets.” Denmark has already allocated $400 million to improve aerial ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance) capabilities in the Arctic and North Atlantic using long-range drones.
The Danish Ministry of Defence’s Material and Procurement Agency announced on Jan. 14, 2025, that it signed an agreement with Germany to supply “F-35 deployment kits” to be used for both countries in the future. Signed in the presence of Lt. Gen. Jesper Jørgensen and his German counterpart Vice Admiral Carsten Stawitzki, the kit “enables F-35 operations to be planned and carried out away from the aircraft’s main bases, allowing the fighter jets to be deployed at short notice for exercises and operations around the world.”
The containerized modules have been developed to be used by pilots and technicians as a space for briefings and planning sorties “under classified conditions,” maintaining the operational security. The production of the modules has just begun, says the statement, with three kits to be manufactured.
Of these, one is the one purchased by Germany and the two others are meant for Denmark. The first kit is expected to be delivered to Denmark by the end of 2025. A solution like this one could possibly be used for deployments in Greenland until the renovation works at Kangerlussuaq airport are completed, if needed.
