Denmark Test-Fires 'Most Advanced Missile It Ever Had'
05:48 GMT 06.05.2022 (Updated: 20:14 GMT 19.10.2022)
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The frigate-mounted long-range SM-2 interceptor missile is expected to improve Denmark's capacity and made it a “credible” NATO partner in escort missions, among others.
The Danish frigate Niels Juel has performed the first launch of a long-range SM-2 missile, which is able to shoot down enemy aircraft and missiles.
The US-made SM-2 has been billed as the most innovative tool in Denmark's arsenal by, among others, Johannes Kidmose, the head of the Centre for Maritime Operations at the Defence Academy, who stressed the significance of the launch.
“It is the most advanced missile we have ever had in the Armed Forces,” Kidmose told TV2. According to Kidmose, the missile will provide a capacity comparable to the contributions of other NATO countries, thus making Denmark a “credible partner” in the NATO alliance.
Rear Admiral Torben Mikkelsen, the head of the Danish Navy Command, called the successful launch an “important milestone”.
Denmark possesses three frigates of the same calibre as the Niels Juel, and the intention is to install SM-2 missiles in all of them. According to Mikkelsen, the frigates already have radars, other sensors and a well-trained crew, which together perfectly equips them to monitor airspace and detect enemy aircraft and missiles. Nevertheless, the SM-2 missiles are a major upgrade, he ventured.
“It simply makes the frigates better for air defenсe, which is important in relation to the defence of Denmark and support of NATO demands”, Mikkelsen said in a press release.
Dan B. Termansen, the commander of the Navy's 2nd Squadron, argued that the three frigates can now finally exploit their potential to the full.
“They have a certain ability for underwater warfare. They have a certain ability for surface war against other ships and land targets. And now they have expanded the capability for air warfare. Now you can shoot planes down at much longer distances than before,” Termansen told TV2.
Among other things, this allows protecting other ships from longer distances than has previously been possible, he stressed. This, according to Termansen, can be used for escorting forces to the Baltics.
“It simply makes the frigates better for air defenсe, which is important in relation to the defence of Denmark and support of NATO demands”, Mikkelsen said in a press release.
Dan B. Termansen, the commander of the Navy's 2nd Squadron, argued that the three frigates can now finally exploit their potential to the full.
“They have a certain ability for underwater warfare. They have a certain ability for surface war against other ships and land targets. And now they have expanded the capability for air warfare. Now you can shoot planes down at much longer distances than before,” Termansen told TV2.
Among other things, this allows protecting other ships from longer distances than has previously been possible, he stressed. This, according to Termansen, can be used for escorting forces to the Baltics.
Termansen rejected any connection between the launch and Russia's ongoing special military operation in Ukraine, calling it a coincidence. According to him, the launch had been planned “for many years”.
Earlier this week, the the Norwegian Armed Forces performed their first test of the new NASAMS high-mobility launcher with vehicle-mounted anti-aircraft missiles, celebrating it as the first mobile air defence unit in the army's history. Likewise, any connection with the Russian campaign in Ukraine was denied.
