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Drones: Industry & Defence
26OCT

Denmark buys frigate guns against drones

2 min read
15:07UTC

Denmark's defence procurement agency will buy 26 Saab Trackfire gun mounts for its frigates without competition, valued at 334m Danish kroner, to engage flying and sailing drones.

← Back to China puts drone-part exports under licenceJump to analysis ↓
TechnologyAssessed
Key takeaway

Denmark is buying 26 Saab Trackfire gun mounts without a tender to shoot at drones from its frigates.

Denmark's navy needs the guns "as quickly as possible", its procurement agency said, "in particular for the frigates to engage both flying and smaller sailing drones"⁠1. Forsvarsministeriets Materiel- og Indkøbsstyrelse (FMI), the Danish defence ministry's procurement agency, gave notice on 15 October that it will buy 26 Trackfire remote weapon stations (gun mounts aimed from inside the ship) from Saab without competition. The notice values the order at 334m Danish kroner, with up to 20 years of support.

A second notice, published on 22 October, shows Denmark buying ten sets of five small multirotor strike drones from Renegade UxS, a Danish start-up, for operational tests⁠2. The order is worth €77,260, about €1,500 a drone. In September FMI bought anti-drone shotguns and more radars.

The Netherlands also bought direct in October. On 14 October it awarded UMS Skeldar an anti-submarine warfare drone without competition, entering the value as €0.01 in the EU tender journal; the notice says technical grounds leave a single supplier⁠3.

Deep Analysis

In plain English

Navies now face attack drones that fly or skim across the water. Firing expensive missiles at each one is costly, so many navies want guns that can shoot drones down cheaply. Denmark will buy 26 gun mounts made by Swedish firm Saab, which crews aim from inside the ship. It chose Saab without an open contest because it says it needs them quickly. The Netherlands also bought a drone for hunting submarines from UMS Skeldar without a contest, and did not publish the real price.

Deep Analysis
Root Causes

A frigate carries a limited number of missiles and cannot reload at sea. Remote weapon stations firing guns let it engage small drones and fast boats many times over without spending its missile load.

EU defence procurement rules under Directive 2009/81/EC allow negotiated awards without notice when urgency or technical exclusivity applies. Denmark, the Netherlands and others have used those exemptions repeatedly for drone and counter-drone kit, as Denmark did for anti-drone shotguns in September.

What could happen next?
  • Consequence

    Danish frigates gain gun-based defence against flying and sailing drones.

    Short term · Reported
  • Risk

    Long support contracts awarded without competition may raise lifetime costs.

    Long term · Assessed
  • Precedent

    Entering token values on public notices weakens price transparency in EU defence buying.

    Medium term · Assessed
Sources:Tenders Electronic Daily (Ministerie van Defensie)·Tenders Electronic Daily (Ministerie van Defensie)·Tenders Electronic Daily (FMI)
Mentions:Forsvarsministeriets Materiel- og Indkøbsstyrelse →Saab →Trackfire →Renegade UxS →UMS Skeldar →Netherlands →Denmark →Royal Danish Navy →Tenders Electronic Daily →US Navy →Red Sea →
First Reported In

Update #19 · China puts drone-part exports under licence

Tenders Electronic Daily (Ministerie van Defensie)· 26 Oct 2026
Read original →
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Written with AI from Lowdown's published reporting. Not individually reviewed by an editor. Editorial standards.