The parties to the Danish Defence Agreement have decided on a distributed construction strategy for five new Arctic patrol vessels for the Danish Navy. This was announced in a press release by the Danish Ministry of Defence on 02 February 2026.
Thomas Lauge Nielsen / Hartpunkt
The distributed construction strategy involves construction at multiple facilities across Denmark, with a single ”assembly facility” to be located in Frederikshavn in northern Jutland. Part of the decision is also that the Danish government will own the assembly facility, and that the facility will be designed so that it can be used for the future construction of larger naval vessels.
The decision to use the described strategy is based on an analysis performed by the multinational services network Deloitte. The chosen strategy was assessed to be the most cost-effective, since it focuses on Danish production, and the distributed construction concept gives access to a larger Danish industrial base, with a larger workforce and production capacity.
In the press release, Danish Minister of Defense Troels Lund Poulsen stated: “Denmark is a major maritime nation, with proud traditions in shipping and shipbuilding. With the decision on a construction strategy where we bring several Danish production facilities into play, as well as an assembly facility in Frederikshavn, we ensure that Denmark’s position in shipbuilding is strengthened just as we, longer term, strengthen Denmark’s security of supply.”
The decision on a construction strategy follows, and forms part of, the Danish “Naval Plan”, announced in April 2025, for a general strengthening of the Danish Navy. From the outset this plan included an intent to ensure a national capability to produce, maintain and support new naval vessels. Part 2 of the Naval Plan includes increased capabilities for surveillance in the Arctic and around Greenland, and the new Arctic patrol vessels will be an important part of this. As additional elements to strengthen national presence in the Arctic, Denmark has already contracted MQ-9B SkyGuardian long-range surveillance drones, and has been approved by the US for the procurement of P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft.
The required capabilities of the new Arctic vessels are, as of yet, undefined, and the definition of capabilities and technical specifications will be the next step. Once these capabilities and specifications are known, actual contractual negotiations for the various parts of the plan can be started. The five new vessels will supplement the three “Knud Rasmussen” class Arctic patrol vessels currently in service.
The press release provides no estimated timeline for the construction of the new Arctic vessels.
