Some 75 years after the Nazis moved in to occupy Denmark in WWII, a number of security and military experts have warned that Denmark’s ability to defend itself from external attacks is far from adequate.
Jesper Helsø, who headed the Danish Defence from 2002-08, was among those to pinpoint the inadequacies of the Danish military.
“It’s an army that lacks endurance,” Helsø told Berlingske newspaper. “It has a number of obsolete systems that are essential for coherent operations, including artillery and anti-tank. So it’s not an army in balance.”
“You have to be able to solve the whole spectrum of tasks. Otherwise, it doesn’t make sense.”
Other experts referred to Denmark’s army as a “militia” because of its lack of heavy weaponry.
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More funds needed
Some of the political opposition, including Konservative, argue that a defence mobilisation should be re-established due to current geopolitical and security climate in Europe.
“When we see the Russians increasingly violate our airspace, we must take our defence seriously,” said Søren Pape Poulsen, the head of Konservative.
Poulsen contends that government should evaluate Denmark’s security policy and increase the defence budget by 1 billion kroner per year.
In 2012, the government signed a new defence bill to cut 2.7 billion kroner per year from the Danish Defence.
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