The Danish Ministry of Defence’s Acquisition and Logistics Organisation (DALO) has awarded a contract to the Danish Patrol Ships consortium (comprising Terma, Odense Maritime Technology and PensionDanmark) for the design of a new class of patrol vessel for the Royal Danish Navy (RDN), the ministry body announced on 23 June 2023.
The project will be conducted in co-operation with the Danish armed forces and with potential subcontractors in the Danish maritime and defence industry to ensure a sustainable, future-proof and affordable design.
The intent is that the practical work on the design will start in the summer of 2023 and be finalised by mid-2025. At that point the Danish government will then decide on the procurement and construction of the new vessels.
The design itself is intended to incorporate features such as ‘green’ technologies, for example, in order to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, as well as advanced decision support systems and modular mission equipment. For the latter, the Danish ship design and construction industry has significant experience from the previous Flyvefisken (Flying Fish)-class patrol ships and Absalon-class frigates. Both of these classes house most of their mission equipment in interchangeable, containerised modules, allowing rapid switching between missions.
The design contract has its origins in a decision by the Danish government in June 2021 to start the development of a new class of patrol ship for the RDN that will be capable of sovereignty patrols and environmental protection. A little over a year ago, in April 2022, DALO announced its intention to award contracts for the new patrol ships to the Danish Patrol Ships consortium, making the consortium responsible for the overall design, system integration, construction and initial maintenance of the new ships. With this latest contract the design part of the project has been initiated.
The decision to make a Danish consortium responsible for the patrol ship project has undoubtedly been influenced by the desire, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, to bolster the Danish defence industry and to increase the assurance of supply, especially for important defence assets. There can also be little doubt that the war in Ukraine, and the resultant new European security environment, has influenced the intended roles of the new ships, with an increased focus on potential combat operations, to safeguard Denmark’s and NATO’s sea lanes of communication and to defend Danish territorial waters.
The project also constitutes a novel approach to new ship design for DALO and the RDN. Traditionally, DALO and the navy themselves have retained primary responsibility for design and system integration, with just the actual construction of the ships being contracted to industry. By making a single industry partner, in this case the Danish Patrol Ships consortium, responsible for the complete project, DALO and the RDN wish to further leverage industry expertise. Should the project become a success, DALO and the Danish government expect it to become a model for the future contracting of complex capabilities.
The Danish Patrol Ships consortium is one of the largest defence contractors in Denmark, with a focus on radar systems, avionics and space technology. As previously reported by EST, Terma was also recently awarded the contract to act as system integrator for the Danish Army’s new very-short-range air defence system. Odense Maritime Technology is a maritime consulting firm specialising in, among other things, ship design and integration, while PensionDanmark is a labour market pension fund with more than 800,000 members and, as such, brings to the table not only funding but also skills in project and risk management.
Thomas Lauge Nielsen
