The Danish Ministry of Defence (MoD) has announced plans to acquire three new Arctic patrol ships to replace the Royal Danish Navy’s (RDN’s) Thetis-class patrol ships. The planned procurement forms part of a broader range of acquisitions announced on 27 January as part of the first partial agreement for the Arctic and North Atlantic (Første delaftale for Arktis og Nordatlanten).
The three new Arctic patrol ships are planned to replace the RDN’s ageing Thetis class, and are expected to undertake patrol, surveillance, and other tasks off the coast of Greenland, and be capable of operating in ice and embarking helicopters and unmanned systems.
Against the background of the changed security situation in the Baltic Sea and North Atlantic, and following Donald Trump’s stated desire to bring Greenland into the USA’s fold, Denmark’s Minister of Defence has said the priority for a series of proposed patrol boats will be on Arctic operations.
“The situation has changed in several areas since the decision on the design of new patrol ships was made in 2021,” said Minister of Defence Troels Lund Poulsen.
“We are in a significantly changed security policy situation, and the armed forces are asking for a replacement for the aging Thetis class. The parties to the agreement have therefore agreed to reorient the existing patrol ship project to a focus on the Arctic ships.”
Danish Defence Command has reportedly expressed a desire for an early replacement of the Thetis class, and new Arctic ships are expected to not have the same need for maintenance.
The initial proposal was for boats able to operate in the Baltic Sea and Danish waters, but with Swedish and Finnish NATO membership, Denmark believes the security burden can be shared amongst more states.
“The work so far has by no means been wasted,” added Poulsen. “A reorientation makes it possible to get started more quickly with the design work on the Arctic ships, when a new time-consuming process does not have to be carried out, for example.
“In addition, it is expected that sub-elements from the design work of the patrol ships and experiences from the work on a Danish construction strategy can be reused.”
Marine environment protection tasks were also part of the design of the patrol ships, however the acquisition of new pollution control vessels specifically for that task will take place in cooperation with the Ministry of Civil Protection and Emergency Management, which has taken over responsibility for marine environmental preparedness.
© 2025, GDC. © GDC and www.globaldefensecorp.com. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to www.globaldefensecorp.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
