Several Danish parties opined that the US ambassador had gone too far in instructing Copenhagen how to spend its money.
The United States has encouraged Denmark to buy more F-35 fighter jets. This message has been delivered by US Ambassador to Denmark Carla Sands.
So far, Denmark has bought 27 F-35 fighter jets from the US, but at least five of those will be permanently stationed in the US.
“Some of the Danish planes stay in the United States, because Danish pilots will be trained in Arizona, and about 22 planes will come to Denmark,” Sands told the newspaper Jyllands-Posten.
“This is not many aircraft compared to the 38-40 F-16 you have today. It is actually a reduction in the number of aircraft, so Denmark should probably look into it,” Sands continued. According to the Danish Defence Ministry, only 30 F-16s are actually in use.
Furthermore, ambassador Carla Sands voiced her apprehension over NATO's insufficient aircraft power and surveillance capacities in the Arctic, urging Copenhagen to fulfil three-year-old promises to strengthen defence and surveillance there.
Ambassador Sands referred to a 2016 report from the Ministry of Defence on the tasks in the Arctic, where concerns over the Russian military presence in the region was voiced. Sands also suggested that the report indicated a lack of satellites, which reflects the fact that Denmark does not monitor Greenland's skies or waters well enough, and is lagging behind.
Military funding remains yet another…
