Following repeated statements by U.S. President Donald Trump that the US is contemplating a variety of choices to annex Greenland, and revelations by senior officers that navy choices are being thought of by the Trump administration, questions have been raised relating to the power of the Danish Armed Forces to retain management over the territory. Whereas the US already maintains a big presence on Greenland, the majority of Denmark’s navy energy and its defence funds is concentrated in its fighter fleet, which on January 18 accomplished its transition from out of date Chilly Conflict period F-16A/B fighters to the F-35A fifth era fighter. The Royal Danish Air Pressure is the third air pressure on the earth to transition to a completely fifth generator fighter fleet, though the F-35 applications unprecedented and excessive ranges of centralisation in the US has raised questions relating to whether or not the plane would have the ability to perform to defend the nation’s territory towards a possible American invasion.
America has because the Nineteen Eighties positioned notably in depth restrictions on the utilisation of its fighters by international shoppers, which has been pointed to as a serious constraint by a number of analysts and officers. The restrictions on entry to software program codes, and on which bases fighters may be operated from and for what roles, has been a major issue limiting the enchantment of American fighters to impartial states comparable to India. The unprecedented new rift between Washington and Europe underneath the second Trump administration has additionally led to rising issues being raised on the continent. The Autonomic Logistics Info System (ALIS) centralised IT system that manages the F-35’s operations, upkeep, coaching, and provide chain, and its successor the Operational Information Built-in Community (ODIN), are immediately linked to Lockheed Martin’s amenities in the US, and have been pointed to by analysts as a very efficient avenue to disable the fighters fielded by international shoppers.
Observing the efficiency of ALIS and ODIN as means to regulate F-35 operations, creator of the latest e-book on the F-35 program Abraham Abrams noticed in his latest e-bookF-35 Joint Strike Fighter: A Nice and Horrible Program: “ALIS might be used to restrict or block shoppers’ entry to essential information comparable to software program patches, might be used as a counterintelligence instrument to tightly monitor operations comparable to when, the place, and the way F-35s have been being flown, and supply a variety of different superior safeguards to curtail F-35 operations ought to these be seen to be towards U.S. pursuits.” Solely the UK and Israel are recognized to have adequate entry to the F-35’s supply codes to have the ability to function the plane with vital ranges of autonomy, with the US in each circumstances having initially been extremely reluctant to supply this entry.
Commenting on the vulnerability of F-35 operators within the occasion of attainable hostilities with the US, head of communications at German defence firm Hensoldt, Joachim Schranzhofer, noticed in early 2025: The ‘kill swap’ within the F-35 is greater than only a hearsay… However it’s a lot simpler to make use of the mission planning system – then the airplane stays on the bottom.” Defence analyst Richard Aboulafia noticed on the time that though the existence of a kill swap has not been confirmed, “If you happen to postulate the existence of one thing that may be accomplished with slightly little bit of software program code, it exists.” “Most European militaries rely closely on the U.S. for communications assist, for digital warfare assist, and for ammunition resupply in any critical battle,” Justin Bronk, a senior analysis fellow on the Royal United Providers Institute, additionally famous, making the necessity for a ‘kill swap’ redundant.
With Denmark’s navy capabilities overwhelmingly centred on its F-35 fleet, the US is assured complete dominance of the air within the occasion of a possible battle. However, Washington is more likely to search to keep away from having to disable the F-35s, as this might serve to undermine international curiosity within the plane which has been a number one performer on international markets. The Danish authorities, too, would doubtless search to achieve an answer which might keep away from the embarrassment of getting its multi-billion greenback fighter fleet grounded from overseas. Thus whereas the US’ in depth management over the Danish F-35 fleet stays a serious asset in its favour, it’s unlikely that both aspect will permit tensions to escalate to a stage the place this will probably be used.
