COPENHAGEN, Denmark — A series of scandals has blighted Denmark's Armed Forces at a time when the Scandinavian country and member of the NATO alliance is building up its defenses, chiefly as a response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The events have so far led to the dismissal this week of Denmark's top military chief, Gen. Flemming Lentfer, who failed to inform the defense minister about an incident on the frigate HDMS Iver Huitfeldt last month while deployed to the Red Sea, where it was part of a U.S.-led operation to defend commercial shipping against Houthi militants.
On Thursday, a technical error onboard its sister ship, the frigate HDMS Niels Juel that was docked in a Danish harbor, led to the air space and maritime route being briefly closed due to fears a navy missile might launch unintentionally — but not explode — and send fragments falling into the busy shipping lane between the islands of Zeeland, where Copenhagen sits, and Funen.
The Iver Huitfeldt, which returned from its Red Sea mission on Thursday, ahead of schedule, reportedly experienced a half-hour long malfunction of its missile and radar systems during a drone attack on March 9, according to the specialist defense news website Olfi.
“I have lost trust in the chief of defense,” the defense minister said briefly without elaborating why he fired Lentfer on Wednesday. Maj. Gen Michael Hyldgaard was appointed as his replacement.
The firing of Lentner…
