HCA Airport on Fyn is courting the Danish military with a long-term expansion plan, ahead of a visit by Defence Minister Jeppe Bruus on Thursday.
The airport at Beldringe, between Odense and Nordfyn, wants to draw as many defence activities as possible to its site. That emerges from documents released under freedom of information rules, Avisen Danmark reports. The airport’s board adopted a growth plan for the coming years in November 2025.
Kim Kenlev, vice-chair and acting director of HCA Airport, told Avisen Danmark that the plan can fairly be read as an open invitation. He described it as a sketch plan so far, adding that the airport has identified an area suited to military use. Per Kenlev, the airport is also open to including other phases if the need arises.
Plans for a national drone center at HCA Airport were presented at a press conference in the spring of 2025 by then defence minister Troels Lund Poulsen. The project was described as a milestone for Danish defence, with an investment of about 725 million kroner and up to 100 new jobs on Fyn. The center began operating later that year in Forskerparken in Odense, chosen as a temporary solution.
The airport began expanding its land area in 2024. The first phase is already full, and construction is underway on one plot in the second phase. The master plan allows for three further expansions, one of which lies somewhat apart from the rest.
Odense mayor Peter Rahbæk Juel and his counterpart in Nordfyns Municipality wrote to Troels Lund Poulsen in December 2025. The letter welcomed the return of defence activity to Fyn and called for a new conscript training program under Forsvarets Dronecenter. The mayors noted that the physical framework for the drone center and the coming conscripts remained unresolved.
The released documents show repeated attempts to press the minister politically, including a meeting on February 12, 2026. Rahbæk Juel said the drone center and the status of a possible new barracks on Fyn will also be central topics on Thursday. He said he does not see a barracks at the airport as the best use of the area, but points to synergies between military and civilian drone development.
What other outlets report
TV 2 Fyn has reported that around 300 of the new conscripts are expected to be housed in a new preparedness center. According to the broadcaster, the location has not been settled, and local politicians including Lars Christian Lilleholt want it placed on Fyn, preferably in Odense. TV 2 Fyn links the need to the defence agreement, and says the facility should be ready within a few years.
Forsvaret already has a presence in the city. Its own service location listings include Forsyningscenter Odense at Vibelundvej 45 in Odense V.
Kenlev said he hopes to brief Bruus, a Social Democrat elected on Fyn, on the expansion plans during the visit. The minister is scheduled to meet drone companies based in the airport’s business park.
