In a controversial announcement reported by Danish outlet DR News, the Danish Chief of Defence, General Michael Hyldgaard, has recommended to the Ministry of Defence and the parties of the Defence Agreement to abandon the ongoing repair and planned upgrade of the Danish Navy’s Iver Huitfeldt-class air defence frigates.
By Thomas Lauge Nielsen / Hartpunkt.
The controversy of the recommendation stems from the fact that the three “Iver Huitfeldt” class ships are the most modern and, at least in theory, capable vessels in the Danish Navy. The Ivar Huitfeldt class consists of three ships: the “Iver Huitfeldt”, the “Peter Willemoes” and the “Niels Juel”. The ships are essentially identical, with a length of 138m, a displacement of 6.600 tons, and a range of some 9.000 nautical miles. The ships are classified as air defence frigates, and are armed with twin OTO Melara 76 mm guns, a single 35mm Oerlikon Millennium close-in weapon system, as well as a total of 44 ea. vertical launch cells for RIM-66 SM-2 and RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow (ESSM) surface-to-air missiles. These weapons are complemented by Harpoon anti-ship missiles and MU90 anti-submarine torpedoes. The frigates also have a facilities for a Sikorsky MH-60R multi-purpose helicopter.
The recommendation by the Chief of Defence to abandon these seemingly capable ships is based on three factors:
First of all, on 09 March 2024, during a deployment in the Red Sea, the air defence systems of the Iver Huitfeldt experienced several serious failures, including a software fault in the missile fire control system that disabled the frigate’s SM-2 and ESSM missiles for around 30 min. For over a year now, technical experts have attempted to resolve and repair the faults, but to no decisive effect. It is important to note that the faults in question affect all three ships of the class, since their weapons, fire control and sensor systems are the same.
Although the frigates have continued to operate in training and patrol missions, the issues with the weapon systems have significantly impacted the Danish Navy’s ability to contribute to the NATO standing naval forces.
Secondly, in addition to the ongoing repairs, the frigates are facing a major upgrade of their sensors and fire control system, which is estimated to cost several billion Danish Kroner (several hundred million Euro).
And lastly, the procurement of new air defence frigates, as a replacement for or supplement to the Iver Huitfeldt class, is already part of the second phase of the Danish “Fleet Plan”, as previously reported. The final definition of and agreement on phase 2 of the plan is expected in the near future.

It is on this background that the Danish Chief of Defence has recommended to drop the planned upgrade of the Iver Huitfeldt-class, and instead focus on the rapid procurement and entry into service of a new class of air defence frigate, tailored to Denmark’s and NATO’s new security situation, and equipped with modern sensors and weapon systems.
However, also as per the recommendation of the Chief of Defence, the Iver Huitfeldt-class ships should not be scrapped or sold, but rather be repurposed. Specifically, the ships should have their sensor and weapons capabilities scaled down, and be turned into long range patrol ships, as a supplement to the Danish Navy’s smaller, shorter-ranged Diana-class patrol vessels. These latter are currently hard pressed to fulfil their duties as patrol, fisheries inspection and search and rescue vessels.
The final part of the recommendation concerns the two Absalon-class frigates currently in Danish Navy service. These should, according to the Chief of Defence, continue in service in their assigned role of anti-submarine frigates.
Mr. Carsten Bach, defence spokesperson for the Liberal Alliance party, commented that acquiring new frigates was a priority, since the Iver Huitfeldt-class ships evidently were not mission ready. When asked if the new frigates should be built in Denmark, Carsten Bach said that, while national assurance of supply was important, Denmark needs a mission capable frigate capacity as soon as possible. While not explicitly stated, this could be taken to imply a focus on speed rather than on national production.
It should be stressed, though, that the second phase of the Danish Naval Plan has yet to be agreed upon, so time will have to tell of the recommendation from the Chief of Defence is followed.
This article by Thomas Lauge Nielsen was originally published in German language at Hartpunkt.de. It has been translated and republished with authorization.