DI pushes 55-point defence industry plan

DI Defence and Security has unveiled a proposed defence industrial strategy containing 55 recommendations aimed at ensuring defence spending delivers greater industrial, technological and employment benefits for Denmark.

Covering 11 strategic areas, the proposal outlines how Denmark could strengthen the resilience and competitiveness of its defence industrial base while contributing to national and European security.

- We are investing heavily in defence at present. It is therefore crucial that a larger share of these investments also helps strengthen Danish companies, Danish capabilities and Danish jobs. Ultimately, this is about our ability to take responsibility for our own security, said Joachim Finkielman, director of DI Defence and Security.

Defence Nordic has previously reported on Denmark's use of industrial cooperation requirements, often referred to as offsets, and on DI's concerns over what it sees as a lack of strategic partnership thinking in defence procurement.

In Denmark, industrial cooperation obligations are embedded directly into contracts between the state and foreign suppliers, with defined financial commitments, timelines and project scopes linked to individual procurement programmes.

Political work on a new national defence industrial strategy has been underway for several years, but no strategy has yet been adopted. 

According to DI Defence and Security, clearer political direction and greater urgency are required if current defence investments are to generate additional production capacity and technological development in Denmark and across Europe.

- It is encouraging that the government has made a new strategy a priority. However, ambitions must now be translated into action. We do not have time to wait if we want to strengthen both our defence and our industrial base, Finkielman said.

The proposal identifies nine Danish areas of strategic strength, including maritime capabilities, autonomous systems, sensors and command-and-control technologies, which it argues should be prioritised for future investment and development.

DI Defence and Security also calls for improved framework conditions, increased investment in research and development, and stronger cooperation with international suppliers.

"Denmark has strong companies and technologies, but we need to become better at bringing them into play. This applies both to Danish procurement, cooperation with international partners and, not least, removing the bottlenecks that currently hamper production and exports," Finkielman said.

He also highlighted lessons from Ukraine, where close cooperation between government and industry has accelerated capability development and industrial innovation.