MILAN — Denmark is exploring the possibility of buying the U.S.-made Poseidon-8 maritime patrol aircraft to bolster its surveillance over the Arctic region, the Danish defense minister has said.
In an interview with Danish broadcaster TV2, Troels Lund Poulsen stated that the country could buy “a fleet” of Boeing planes, an acquisition estimated to be worth billions of dollars.
“I would prefer that we collaborate with other NATO countries to get the most value for our money and to have a greater degree of flexibility – but if that proves impossible, I am also willing to accept that we will have to acquire this P-8 aircraft capacity ourselves,” Poulsen told Reuters in a statement.
Of specific interest is to increase threat awareness surrounding Greenland and the Faroe Islands, which are semi-autonomous Danish territories.
Initially designed as a maritime-patrol aircraft, the P-8 has also been used by several countries in an anti-submarine role to monitor Russian underwater activities. User nations include the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and fellow Nordic country Norway.
Some Danish experts say that opting for the Boeing aircraft would be logical from the perspective of building stronger ties with its current users and to help standardize platforms.
“The selection makes sense from a close cooperation standpoint with the U.K., Germany, and Norway with one common type of maritime patrol aircraft,” Hans Tino Hansen, chief executive officer of the Denmark-based security company Risk Intelligence, said.
“Denmark and Norway also already cooperate closely with Danish assistance to Oslo, preparing for the MH-60 Seahawk with training of flight and ground crews,” he added.
The P-8 can be equipped with a list of sensors and weapons to detect, classify and neutralize hostile submarines, according to the manufacturer’s website.
It can also drop sonobuoys, which, once they hit the water, provide a radio transmitter above the surface and hydrophone sensors, similar to underwater microphones.
Elisabeth Gosselin-Malo is a Europe correspondent for Defense News. She covers a wide range of topics related to military procurement and international security, and specializes in reporting on the aviation sector. She is based in Milan, Italy.
