Denmark is quietly replacing its Italian-made naval guns with Swedish Bofors cannons as Nordic cooperation deepens in the wake of Donald Trump’s threats to NATO and Greenland. The shift, part of a broader Danish-Swedish military integration, reflects Copenhagen’s growing reliance on Stockholm as Washington’s reliability crumbles.
The Danish Armed Forces is preparing to abandon more than a generation of Italian shipboard artillery in favor of Swedish-made Bofors 57mm cannons, according to sources cited by Danish public broadcaster DR. The decision centers on a simple calculation. If war comes, Denmark needs allies who can supply ammunition and spare parts fast. Sweden, just across the Øresund, fits that requirement better than manufacturers a thousand miles south.
The cannons in question fire programmable projectiles that can be adjusted mid-flight to detonate against surface vessels, aircraft, or shore targets. They already arm warships in the United States, Britain, Germany, Canada, and Finland. Now Denmark wants them on its new Arctic patrol ships, currently under construction in Frederikshavn, and potentially across its fleet of frigates and corvettes.
This is not just about hardware. It reflects a deeper strategic pivot that began with Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine and accelerated sharply when Trump returned to the White House in 2025. His campaign threats to withdraw from NATO unless members hit the two percent defense spending target, coupled with repeated suggestions that the United States could seize Greenland, forced Denmark to reconsider who it can actually count on.
Sweden Becomes Denmark’s New Best Friend
Danish and Swedish naval forces now coordinate daily patrols in the waters between Bornholm, Gotland, and the Danish straits, according to commanders on both sides. When a Russian vessel transits the Baltic approaches, the two navies pass target data back and forth, building what they call a shared situational picture. Escort duties shift seamlessly from Danish frigates to Swedish corvettes as ships cross invisible boundaries in the sound.
This level of operational intimacy is unprecedented. Sweden only joined NATO in March 2024, but Denmark and Sweden have moved quickly to boost security cooperation since then. The two countries are now synchronizing national defense plans, a process that involves some of the most sensitive military information a state possesses. Generals meet regularly to game out scenarios where Russian forces move west before American reinforcements arrive, if they arrive at all.
Mikkel Vedby Rasmussen, a professor of political science at the University of Copenhagen, told DR that no European country can be certain the United States will respond to a Russian attack anymore. That creates enormous pressure on politicians and military leaders around the Baltic Sea to prepare for the possibility that they will face Moscow alone within the next five years. If an attack comes, he noted, it will likely happen in Denmark’s neighborhood first.
The Ikea of Naval Guns
The Bofors cannon is built in Karlskoga, a town two hours west of Stockholm. Swedish weapons technicians describe it as easy to train on and simple to maintain, the naval equivalent of flat-pack furniture. One officer aboard the corvette Sundsvall claimed he could teach anyone to operate and service the gun in two weeks.
That simplicity matters in peacetime budgets and wartime logistics. Denmark committed in 2022 to raising defense spending from 1.4 percent of GDP to two percent by this year, a pledge made before Trump’s renewed pressure. The National Compromise, as the deal is known, passed with support from all major parties and aimed to add 30,000 active personnel by 2028 while modernizing equipment for territorial defense rather than expeditionary missions.
Buying Swedish cannons fits that framework. A weapon system is only as good as the supply chain behind it. If Denmark sources artillery from a neighbor with whom it shares language, sea borders, and an increasingly integrated command structure, resupply becomes faster and cheaper. Standardization also reduces training costs. Swedish and Danish gun crews can cross-train, share manuals, and swap parts without translation headaches or customs delays.
The decision has not been formally announced, but defense sources confirm the shift is underway. It represents a quiet but significant break with decades of Italian procurement, driven not by performance complaints but by geography and alliance politics.
What Comes Next
Jonas Löfgren, the captain of the Sundsvall, told DR that coordination between small countries sharing a large sea is vital. His corvette, designed for operations in the Swedish archipelago, now spends increasing time on open-water patrols near Bornholm and in the Danish straits. Swedish submarines, widely regarded as some of the quietest in the world, complement Denmark’s surface fleet in ways that matter when Russian vessels probe the gap between Sweden’s east coast and Danish islands.
This is not romantic Nordic solidarity. It is a pragmatic response to American unreliability and Russian aggression. Denmark cannot defend the Baltic approaches alone, and it no longer trusts that the U.S. Sixth Fleet will show up in time. Sweden offers capabilities Denmark lacks, particularly in anti-submarine warfare, and both countries benefit from shared surveillance and patrol duties that would strain either navy operating solo.
The broader picture includes Denmark’s push to strengthen Arctic defenses, with billions invested in new ships and infrastructure as Greenland becomes a flashpoint. Swedish cooperation extends there too, though details remain classified.
Whether this partnership can substitute for American power is another question. Nordic militaries are small, and even combined they lack the strategic airlift, carrier groups, and nuclear umbrella that Washington provides. But they are no longer waiting for Washington to decide if Denmark matters. They are building their own insurance policy, one Bofors cannon at a time.
Sources and References
The Danish Dream: Denmark and Sweden Boost Security Cooperation Agreement
The Danish Dream: Denmark Boosts Arctic Defense with 8 Billion Investment
DR: Efter Trumps trusler er svenske Sjöforsvaret en af Danmarks bedste venner
