Danish Defence
The Danish Armed Forces (Danish: Forsvaret; Faroese: Danska verjan; Greenlandic: Illersuisut) is the unified armed forces of the Kingdom of Denmark charged with the defence of Denmark and its self-governing territories Greenland and the Faroe Islands. The military also promote Denmark's wider interests, support international peacekeeping efforts and provide humanitarian aid.
| Danish Armed Forces | |
|---|---|
| Forsvaret | |
| Motto | Fordi noget er værd at kæmpe for (transl. Because something is worth fighting for) |
| Founded | 1949 |
| Current form | Defence Agreement 2018–23 |
| Service branches | Royal Danish Army Royal Danish Navy Royal Danish Air Force Home Guard |
| Headquarters | Holmen Naval Base, Copenhagen, Denmark |
| Website | Official Website |
| Leadership | |
| Monarch | Frederik X |
| Prime Minister | Mette Frederiksen |
| Minister of Defence | Troels Lund Poulsen |
| Chief of Defence | General Flemming Lentfer |
| Personnel | |
| Military age | 18 for voluntary service |
| Conscription | Yes, for males |
| Available for military service | 2,605,137, age 18–49 (2023) |
| Fit for military service | 2,107,794, age 18–49 (2023) |
| Reaching military age annually | 76,970 (2023) |
| Active personnel | 20,439 military & 4,638 civilian (2019) |
| Reserve personnel | 12,000 + 51,000 volunteers in the Home Guard |
| Deployed personnel | 806 (30 May 2018) |
| Expenditures | |
| Budget | DKK 27.1 billion (€3.64 billion) (2022) |
| Percent of GDP | 1.35% (2019) |
| Related articles | |
| History | Military history of Denmark |
| Ranks | Army ranks Navy ranks Air force ranks |
Since the creation of a standing military in 1510, the armed forces have seen action in many wars, most involving Sweden, but also involving the world's great powers, including the Thirty Years' War, the Great Northern War, and the Napoleonic Wars.
Today, the armed forces consists of: the Royal Danish Army, Denmark's principal land warfare branch; the Royal Danish Navy, a blue-water navy with a fleet of 20 commissioned ships; and the Royal Danish Air Force, an air force with an operational fleet consisting of both fixed-wing and rotary aircraft. The Defence also includes the Home Guard. Under the Danish Defence Law the Minister of Defence serves as the commander of Danish Defence (through the Chief of Defence and the Defence Command) and the Danish Home Guard (through the Home Guard Command). De facto the Danish Cabinet is the commanding authority of the Defence, though it cannot mobilize the armed forces, for purposes that are not strictly defence oriented, without the consent of parliament.