Minister of Defence Troels Lund Poulsen has today launched the Danish Defence UAS Centre in Odense, which will be responsible for the training of Defence personnel and development through experience gathering and collaboration with industry. Approximately DKK 725 million has been allocated to the initiative.
The Danish Defence's use of drones will be significantly strengthened in the coming years. That's why Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen today launches the Danish Defence Drone Centre in Odense.
The centre will be located near Odense and at Gniben and will be responsible for training the Danish Defence's units as well as driving development in the drone field through experience gathering and collaboration with industry and research institutions.
"Today, we are establishing the Danish Armed Forces Drone Centre, which will strengthen the Defence's combat power - both in terms of education and training, but also in terms of the Defence being at the forefront of developments in the area. Construction will begin this year, and by 2026 the Drone Centre will be fully staffed and operational with approximately 100 military and civilian employees. The drones will be used widely throughout the Danish Defence on everything from fixed installations such as air and naval stations to Navy ships, army units and critical infrastructure," says Minister of Defence Troels Lund Poulsen.
The Danish Defence needs to significantly increase its training capacity to ensure a sufficient number of drone pilots who can operate and use drone technologies. Education and training must also contribute to increasing the soldiers' understanding of technology so that their practical application and experience can eventually be included in a continuous cycle of development and innovation in the field.
"Drones on land, sea and air are an integral and crucial part of the modern battlefield. Over the past six months, the Danish Defence has gathered extensive experience in Ukraine. This experience must now be translated into combat power in the Danish defence - quickly and effectively. Ukraine has also shown the importance of a rapid technological development cycle. This can only be achieved in close collaboration between defence, industry and academia. With the establishment of the Danish Drone Centre here at H. C. Andersen Airport, we now have optimal conditions for this collaboration and for the creation of an even stronger defence," says Deputy Chief of Defence, Kenneth Pedersen.
The development part of the drone centre will consist of a mix of military and civilian staff, and it will primarily be here that lessons learned from Ukraine will be processed and utilised in collaboration with armed forces, commands, industry and educational institutions.
The Defence Command plans to build the training and development part of the drone centre in parallel, with an initial priority on building combat power through the training of soldiers.
The total financial cost of establishing the Danish Defence UAS Centre is approximately DKK 725 million during the settlement period, which is planned to be financed through the Acceleration Fund.
FACTS
- The Danish Defence UAS Centre will be established with headquarters in Odense and will have approximately 100 employees.
- The centre is joint and will be responsible for both training drone operators and ensuring that the Danish Defence is at the forefront of developments in the field.
- The Agreement on Strengthening the Defence's Combat Power allocates DKK 50 billion, including DKK 25 billion in 2025 and 2026 respectively, in the Acceleration Fund for faster build-up of the Defence's combat power.
NOTE: The above text is based on the Ministry of Defence's own press release