Danish Defence logs show soldiers trained with live ammunition on 112 separate days in 2025 at Borris range, with more than a third of listings labelled as involving live rounds, raising questions about how often troops were shooting under uncertain conditions in the months before 43 rounds were fired at a “possible drone” last September.
The episode that made headlines involved a single night in late September 2025. A Danish Army unit at Borris Skydeterræn fired 43 live rounds after a suspected drone sighting. According to an internal Defence Command document referenced by Politiken, it was not considered likely that a crewed aircraft had been mistakenly targeted. Yet the Defence’s own noise warning portal, Støjportalen, reveals a wider pattern: live fire exercises at Borris were notified to nearby residents on at least 112 days in 2025, up from 83 days in 2020 and 95 days in 2022, according to Forsvaret’s exercise activity logs.
That increase tracks Denmark’s historic defence spending surge. According to the Defence Ministry, Parliament approved 120 billion kroner in an Accelerationsfond in February 2025, then added another 42.7 billion kroner in October. Total planned defence and security spending for 2024 to 2033 now stands at 357 billion kroner.
Live fire training rises with budget
For residents near military ranges, including the growing number of internationals in Ringkøbing Skjern Municipality, that money translates into noise, disruption, and uncertainty. According to Statistics Denmark’s StatBank, non-Danish citizens account for about 11 to 12 percent of the municipality’s population, up from around seven percent a decade ago. They live within earshot of exercises that Forsvaret’s Støjportalen lists but does not clearly distinguish by type, warning of noise nuisance without specifying on any given day whether blanks or live rounds are in use.
The Borris incident exposed gaps in coordination. According to documents obtained by Frihedsbrevet and DR, the Defence updated its practice for handling suspected drones over training areas the day after the shooting, introducing new reporting and coordination steps.
Budget figures versus actual spending
Political messaging around the defence buildup has been confusing. According to a statement on Venstre.dk, Denmark will report 3.5 percent of GDP as defence spending to NATO in 2026, up from 1.36 percent in 2022. However, an official answer to Folketinget in July 2025 projected defence spending at just 2.2 percent of GDP in 2030 using NATO definitions, according to the Folketing record. The discrepancy stems from different accounting methods: headline figures include broader security and infrastructure costs, while NATO’s central defence metric is narrower. NATO’s new 3.5 percent core-defence target is formally set for 2035.
According to Danmarks Nationalbank, such rapid increases could moderately raise capacity pressure in the economy. The central bank estimates that meeting the 3.5 percent target could lift real GDP by roughly one percent per year through 2029. According to the Defence Ministry, total appropriations in the 2025 Finance Act were 58.5 billion kroner, more than double the roughly 26 to 27 billion kroner allocated a decade earlier.
Civilian oversight remains opaque
For internationals working in aviation, logistics, or drone related businesses, the episode is a warning. Danish rules on unmanned aircraft near military areas are tightening, but communication about what constitutes a possible drone and how soldiers may respond remains limited in English. The Defence’s Støjportalen is available in Danish and offers no English interface. Drone operators must check NOTAMs and national airspace maps on trafikstyrelsen.dk, guidance that is mainly in Danish.
Civil liberties and aviation safety advocates question whether adequate oversight exists when soldiers can fire dozens of live shots at unidentified objects with limited public documentation afterward. Residents near ranges have raised concerns through local councils that exercise notifications do not clearly indicate when live rounds may be used in response to aerial sightings.
What civilians can do
Expats and Danes alike can monitor planned Defence exercises on the Støjportalen website and check aviation notices to avoid surprises. Those who experience unusual shooting or low flying military aircraft over civilian areas can file complaints through municipality noise and safety channels, which typically forward cases to the Defence and Transport Ministries. Drone operators should register devices, follow altitude and distance rules, and keep logs proving lawful use. Police can seize equipment and pursue fines if operators enter restricted airspace near ranges.
Denmark’s shift toward higher defence spending is reshaping life near military facilities. The 112 days of notified live fire training at Borris in 2025, as recorded in Forsvaret’s own exercise portal, illustrate that change. For the growing share of non-Danes living in these areas, transparency about when and why soldiers are shooting remains a work in progress.
