Over the next four years (2024-2028), Denmark will increase its defense and military capabilities. 48 billion DKK will be used to create a heavy brigade of up to 6,000 soldiers ready to join NATO operational forces by 2028. 19 billion DKK will be invested in ground-based air defense systems (two short-range and one long-range). The rest will be used to equip the light infantry battalion in Haderslev with Piranha V armored vehicles to be deployed in the world’s hotspots, and to acquire anti-submarine torpedoes.
- 4.4 billion DKK extra for military support in Ukraine
- Mandatory conscription for women from 2026. This means 18-year-old girls will also be called for “Armed Forces Day” (Forsvarets Dag). So far, they could sign up voluntarily. On that day, the recruits are assessed to see if they are suitable for army training via a written test and health survey. Even if you are deemed suitable, you can still avoid army training if you get a special number at the lottery.
- 4,700 young people participated in army training in 2023 (25% females).
- From 2025 on, there needs to be a minimum of 5,000 young people in army training every year.
- The mandatory conscription duration has also been increased from four months to eleven months.
- The mandatory conscription for women could still be blocked until it becomes legislation in 2025. Liberal Alliance (Libertarians) and DD (Nationalist Populists), two parties that are part of the defense investment agreement, are against the idea and the government needs to convince them to drop the opposition to move forward.
- 1,606 employees of the Armed Forces resigned last year. Why? Decades of financial cuts in military spending have forced barracks, equipment, and salaries into a “state of despair.”
