The rocket launching systems ATMOS and PULS Danish Armed Forces bought from the Israeli military technology company Elbit, will be delayed by about a year and may cost up to a billion kroner more than expected, according to the Minister of Defence Troels Lund Poulsen.

The initial cost estimate for the acquisition of the Elbit system, which is due to replace another system that Denmark has donated to Ukraine, “did not take into account additional vehicles, personnel, ammunition and establishment”, writes the Ministry of Defence in a press release. 

And speaking at a press conference yesterday, Poulsen said there has been no correct cost estimate for the purchase since it was initiated by his predecessor Jakob Ellemann-Jensen in 2015. He suggested the discrepancy in the estimate “could be over a billion”.

A controversial and convoluted deal
In 2015, as now, the Elbit acquisition was controversial. 

At the time, the political parties SF and De Radikale attempted to block the Danish Armed Forces from purchasing weapons from the Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems, which is blacklisted by several pension companies and banks as its weapons are deployed by the Israeli  army in Gaza and the West Bank.

Instead, in 2017 the Danish Armed Forces resolved to buy the weaponry from French arms company Nexter instead of Elbit Systems.

Israel appealed the decision. “I know that [the Israelis] were very upset about that process back then in 2015, and that it has also been at a higher level in the Ministry of Defence, but I have no idea what the conversations with them have been about,” said De Konservative’s defence and finance spokesman, Rasmus Jarlov to Altinget in January 2023.

When the French artillery guns were close to ready in January 2023, the Danish government decided to donate them to Ukraine, rather than keep them for the Danish military.

The Armed Forces and Ministry of Defence therefore rushed a replacement billion-dollar purchase from Elbit Systems – despite heavy criticism from experts and politicians alike.

Shortly afterwards, reports emerged in several Danish media that Ellemann had withheld the real deadline for the Israeli offer from Parliament, and that, despite telling Parliament that he had sought offers from multiple manufacturers for the second purchase, Nexter had not made an offer at all.

Amidst a high-profile media flurry, Ellemann resigned from his post as Defence Minister and stepped back from politics as a whole, acknowledging that several mistakes had been made.

Israeli purchase will be funded with recent defence budget increase
This leaves acting Defence Minister Poulsen in a difficult position. 

Yesterday, Poulsen described it as “deeply problematic” that politicians were not able to make a “fully-informed decision” on the purchase of the PULS system.

“It is very unsatisfactory that we have not received fully comprehensive information before the decision was made. We now risk being left with a significant extra bill, which must be covered by the funds from the defence settlement,” he said.

The Elbit system should have been operational at the end of 2025. It is now expected to be operational at the end of 2026.