The Royal Danish Air Force ( da, Flyvevåbnet, lit=The Flying weapon) (RDAF) is the aerial warfare force of The Kingdom of Denmark and one of the four branches of the

Danish Defence Danish Defence ( da, Forsvaret, fo, Danska verjan, kl, Illersuisut) is the unified armed forces of the Kingdom of Denmark charged with the defence of Denmark and its constituent, self-governing nations Greenland and the Faroe Islands. The Defe ...

. Initially being components of the Army and the Navy, it was made a separate service in 1950. Its main purpose is to serve as enforcer of Danish airspace and to provide air support to Danish group troops on the battlefield.

History

Supermarine Spitfire at Stauning-2004-03

The Royal Danish Air Force (RDAF) was formed as a military service independent from the

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

and

navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

in 1950 from the merger of the

Danish Army Air Corps Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

( da, Hærens Flyvertropper) founded on 2 July 1912 and the

Danish Naval Air Service Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

( da, Marinens Flyvevæsen) which had been founded on 14 December 1911. All military aviation had been prohibited during the

Nazi occupation German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 ...

from 1940 to 1945 and so as of

V-E Day Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945, marking the official end of World War II in Europe in the Easter ...

the Danish armed forces had no aircraft, but the

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

had built or expanded air bases in Denmark. The air force was led by Lieutenant General C.C.J. Førslev, who had previously served as a colonel in the army and as first commander of the Danish Army Air Corps. The national command was located at Værløse Air Base which also served as Command East, while Command West was located at Karup in central Jutland. Royal Air Force volunteer and former member of the Free Norwegian Forces in England, Kaj Birksted, was appointed chief of the flying staff. The rivalries and mutual disrespect between the established officer Førslev, who had never been in air combat himself, and the experienced fighter ace Birksted led to a series of misunderstandings which delayed the operationalization of the air force. Further, the East and West commands lacked experience and knowledge of the newly delivered Gloster Meteor and F-84 Thunderjet aircraft. The

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

armed forces received 38 surplus Supermarine Spitfire H. F. Mk. IXE and 3 P.R.Mk. XI in 1947–48 plus four additional airframes for ground instruction, which were operated by units of the Hærens Flyvertropper and Marinens Flyvevæsen prior to their merger, and by the Royal Danish Air Force until 1956, when the last examples were retired and all but two scrapped. One survived for a number of years in a children's playground. The one surviving instructional airframe was later restored to depict the number '401' Spitfire Mk. IX. This airplane is now preserved at ''Dansk Veteranflysamling'' at Stauning Airfield in

Jutland Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...

. Pilot training was initially based at Avnø from May 1946 until 1951, when the school were transferred to the U.S. under the "Military Assistance Programme". The school at Avnø continued to conduct tests to choose the candidates for the American training programme. In 1947 the RDAF established a school for aircraft mechanics, based at Værløse Air Base. In 1951, the RDAF officers school was inaugurated at Rungstedlund north of Copenhagen, while airmen were educated at Værløse.

1950s

The air force received six

F-84E Thunderjet The Republic F-84 Thunderjet was an American turbojet fighter-bomber aircraft. Originating as a 1944 United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) proposal for a "day fighter", the F-84 first flew in 1946. Although it entered service in 1947, the Thu ...

and 238

F-84G Thunderjet The Republic F-84 Thunderjet was an American turbojet fighter-bomber aircraft. Originating as a 1944 United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) proposal for a "day fighter", the F-84 first flew in 1946. Although it entered service in 1947, the Thu ...

as military aid from the US, and formed five new squadrons (726 to 730) at Karup Air Base from 1952 to 1954. The rapid expansion caused problems as neither two-seaters nor flight simulators were available, causing 89 crashed F-84's and 40 pilot casualties. Some casualties were due to the lack of experience in the newly formed air force while others stemmed from the tactics introduced by American WWII and

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

-veterans based on fast and low flying attacks to avoid anti-aircraft fire. To avoid further casualties the air force established a training squadron of two-seated T-33As in 1956 to train US-educated pilots to navigate under local weather conditions. Furthermore, Eskadrille 722 was changed to function as rescue squadron in 1956 and was strengthened by seven

Sikorsky S-55 The Sikorsky H-19 Chickasaw (company model number S-55) was a multi-purpose helicopter used by the United States Army and United States Air Force. It was also license-built by Westland Aircraft as the Westland Whirlwind in the United Kingdom ...

helicopters in 1957. Finally,

Air Chief Marshal Air chief marshal (Air Chf Mshl or ACM) is a high-ranking air officer originating from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. An air chief marshal is equivalent to an Admir ...

Hugh Saunders Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh William Lumsden Saunders, (24 August 1894 – 8 May 1987) was a South African aviator who rose through the ranks to become a senior Royal Air Force commander. RAF career Saunders enlisted with the Witwatersrand Rifle ...

from Royal Air Force was employed in 1954 to reorganize the air force which led to the merger of Command East and West, forming Flyvertaktisk Kommando (Air Tactical Command) with the initial mission to lower the number of crashes during training.

1960s

In 1962, the Royal Danish Army's four SAM batteries based on

Nike missile The United States Army's Nike Ajax was the world's first operational guided surface-to-air missile (SAM), entering service in 1954. Nike Ajax was designed to attack conventional bomber aircraft flying at high subsonic speeds and altitudes above ...

s were transferred to the air force. They were to defend Copenhagen against Soviet ballistic missiles and high altitude bombers and based as Eskadrille 531 in Gunderød, Eskadrille 532 at Kongelunden on

Amager Amager ( or, especially among older speakers, ) in the Øresund is Denmark's most densely populated island, with more than 212,000 inhabitants (January 2021) a small appendage to Zealand. The protected natural area of ''Naturpark Amager'' (includi ...

, Eskadrille 533 in Sigerslev and Eskadrille 534 in Tune. In 1965 four batteries of

Hawk Hawks are bird of prey, birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are widely distributed and are found on all continents except Antarctica. * The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks and others. Th ...

missiles were deployed close to the Nike batteries to protect them from low altitude aircraft. In 1968, Denmark became the first of three export customers for the

Saab 35 Draken The Saab 35 Draken (; 'The Kite' or 'The Dragon') is a Swedish fighter-interceptor developed and manufactured by Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget (SAAB) between 1955 and 1974. Development of the Saab 35 Draken started in 1948 as the Swedish air fo ...

(Kite/Dragon). Ever since 1966 the Danish government had started looking for an aircraft to replace two squadrons of Republic RF-84F Thunderflash reconnaissance aircraft and North American F-100 Super Sabre fighter/ground attacker aircraft. A number of candidates were considered and these were: the Douglas A-4F Skyhawk, Northrop F-5 Freedom Fighter, Vought A-7 Corsair II, Lockheed F-104 Starfighter, Dassault Mirage III/5 and Saab's Draken. The F-5 and Mirage 5 were the favourites while the Draken was one of the least popular since it had poor payload/range performance and could not carry heavy weapon loads. In response to the Kongelige Danske Flyvevåben's (Royal Danish Air Force's) initial dislike, Saab decided to create a new Draken variant that would put it on the top of the competition shortlist.

1970s

In the 1960s and 1970s, the RDAF operated a number of US financed Lockheed F-104G Starfighters, North American F-100D and F-100F Super Sabres, and several other types. The first Danish Draken, designated F35, delivery took place on 1 September 1970 when three F35s were delivered to Karup Air Base. They were later followed by another 17 F35s and six TF35s. Since the F35s lacked radar, they replaced F-100Ds in the ground attack role. However, Sidewinder AAMS could be carried for self-defence. The six trainers were delivered between 1970 and 1972 and the F35s were delivered between 1970 and 1971. In 1971, the Danish army created the Royal Danish Army Flying Service as the first air-unit outside the air force, since its creation in 1950. It had observation helicopters and piston-engined artillery spotting aeroplanes. In 1977 the

Danish Naval Air Squadron The Danish Navy Air Squadron ( da, Søværnets Helikoptertjeneste), was the aerial component of the Danish navy, from 1977 to December 31, 2010. Operationally it was directly under command of the Danish Naval Command, but maintenance of the eig ...

was extracted from squadron 722 to the Danish navy, and it had ship-based helicopters. In a joint arms purchase four NATO countries:

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, and

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

introduced the General Dynamics

F-16 Fighting Falcon The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful ...

as their common strike fighter in January 1980. The F-16 was later bought by additional NATO countries,

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

and

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

, and the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

, also a NATO member operates the F-16.

1980s

In 1982, the number of fighter aircraft was reduced by 12 units. General Dynamics F-16 is introduced to replace initially the F-100 and later the F-104G. The Royal Danish Naval Air Service is strengthened by eight Westland Lynx Mk. 80 from 1980, replacing the Alouette III helicopters. As a supplement to the Greenland-based C-130s the air force purchases three Gulfstream G-III.

1990s

In 1990, the Danish Army Air Corps purchases 12

Eurocopter Fennec The Eurocopter (now Airbus Helicopters) AS550 Fennec (now H125M) and AS555 Fennec 2 are lightweight, multipurpose military helicopters manufactured by Eurocopter Group (now Airbus Helicopters). Based on the AS350 Ecureuil and AS355 Ecureuil ...

lightweight attack helicopters to strengthen capabilities to perform expeditionary mission. The helicopters were transferred to RDAF in 2003. In 1992, during the Yugoslavian civil wars, the RDAF C-130 Hercules aircraft were used for transport of the 900 Danish troops participating in the UN-led mission to the Balkans. In 1996, a C-130 joined the NATO On-Call International Airlift Pool along with a Gulfstream aircraft. The Gulfstreams were replaced by Challenger planes the following year, when the Danish government ordered the three Challengers in current use. In 1999, following the end of the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

, the Danish air force was re-organised to be an "expeditionary" air force, capable of supporting international operations worldwide – but at the same time still being able to uphold its domestic air and seaward defence commitments. The same year, an expeditionary force of 9 F-16s to join the

Operation Allied Force The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) carried out an aerial bombing campaign against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The air strikes lasted from 24 March 1999 to 10 June 1999. The bombings continued until an a ...

is approved in parliament.

2000s

In 2002, Denmark joined the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Team, and eventually up to 48 F-35s could be bought to replace the F-16s. In October 2002, a tri-national detachment of 18 Danish,

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

, and

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

F-16 The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it ...

fighter-bombers, with one Dutch

KC-10 The McDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extender is an American aerial refueling tanker aircraft operated by the United States Air Force (USAF). A military version of the three-engine DC-10 airliner, the KC-10 was developed from the Advanced Tanker Cargo A ...

tanker, flew to the

Manas Air Base Transit Center at Manas (formerly Manas Air Base and unofficially Ganci Air Base) is a former U.S. military installation at Manas International Airport, near Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan. It was primarily operated by the U.S. Air F ...

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the east. ...

, in support of the NATO ground forces in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

as part of the

Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used synonymously by the U.S. government for both the War in Afghanistan (2001–2014) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response to the September 11 at ...

. In 2004, the older

C-130H Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally desig ...

fleet of three transport aircraft (bought by the government in 1973) was replaced by three of the more-advanced and stretched

C-130J The Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft. The C-130J is a comprehensive update of the Lockheed C-130 Hercules, with new engines, flight deck, and other systems. The C-130J is the newest v ...

transport aircraft. A fourth C-130J joined in 2007. In 2005, a modification program (Mid Life Update) was completed on the remaining F-16 aircraft. The modification programme, started in 1995, introduced a new mission computer, colour multifunction displays, and other avionic improvements. Despite the modifications and improvements, the Danish air force is considering the replacement of 30 F-16s with a more advanced fighter. Contenders include the two-seated Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornet, the Lockheed Martin F-35A Joint Strike Fighter and the

Eurofighter Typhoon The Eurofighter Typhoon is a European multinational twin-engine, canard delta wing, multirole fighter. The Typhoon was designed originally as an air-superiority fighter and is manufactured by a consortium of Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo ...

. The decision of the selected type will be announced before the end of June 2015*. Update: the RADF have selected the F-35 and 27 units are to be procured. Canadair Challenger 604 C-168 (9373613575)

Canadair Challenger 604 C-168 (9373613575)

In 2003, 16 H-500 Cayuse and 13 Eurocopter AS550C2 Fennec from the Army Air Corps and eight Westland Lynx Mk. 90B from the Naval Air Squadron were supposed to be transferred to the air force. The 16 Cayuse and 13 Fennec helicopters were transferred to the newly re-formed Danish Squadron 724. The eight Lynx helicopters were supposed to enter another re-formed squadron, ''Squadron 728'', but for political reasons those helicopters remained with the Navy. This change of "ownership" of the naval helicopters became effective on 1 January 2011 when the naval helicopters joined the newly formed ''Squadron 723''. In 2005, the 16 Cayuses were decommissioned, and also one of the Fennecs. The remaining 12 Fennecs took over many of the tasks from the Cayuses, including support-functions of the Danish police. In 2006, the air force signed a

letter of intent A letter of intent (LOI or LoI, or Letter of Intent) is a document outlining the understanding between two or more parties which they intend to formalize in a contract, legally binding agreement. The concept is similar to a Heads of agreement ( ...

to purchase several of the Boeing Integrated Defense

C-17 Globemaster III The McDonnell Douglas/Boeing C-17 Globemaster III is a large military transport aircraft that was developed for the United States Air Force (USAF) from the 1980s to the early 1990s by McDonnell Douglas. The C-17 carries forward the name of two ...

. That order needs to be confirmed, but it is to be made on the basis of the formation of a shared

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

C-17 air fleet to support international deployments. Denmark has later withdrawn from this arrangement but it is in existence today. See

NATO Strategic Airlift Capability The Strategic Airlift Capability (SAC) is a multinational initiative that provides its participating nations assured access to military airlift capability to address the growing needs for both strategic airlifts and tactical airlifts. SAC, est ...

. The United States and the United Kingdom have already bought numerous C-17s, and several other NATO countries are considering doing so, too. In June 2007, Denmark's six

EH101 The AgustaWestland AW101 is a medium-lift helicopter in military and civil use. First flown in 1987, it was developed by a joint venture between Westland Helicopters in the United Kingdom and Agusta in Italy in response to national requirement ...

transport helicopters were transferred to the British

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

to meet an urgent British requirement for additional transport helicopters. In 2009 six replacement AW101 were delivered to the RDAF from AgustaWestland Yeowil and paid for by the UK.

2010s

In June 2010 the

Sikorsky S-61 The Sikorsky S-61L and S-61N are civil variants of the Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King, SH-3 Sea King military helicopter. It was developed and produced by the American helicopter manufacturer Sikorsky Aircraft. The commercial version of the Sea King w ...

SAR helicopter was withdrawn. The Danish Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organization (DALO), short listed five helicopters as potential replacements for the Lynx with around 12 new naval helicopters needed. The Sikorsky/Lockheed MH-60R, the NH90/NFH, H-92, AW159 and AW101 were on the short list and a Request For Proposal was issued on 30 September 2010. Ultimately the air force decided to buy nine

Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk The Sikorsky SH-60/MH-60 Seahawk (or Sea Hawk) is a twin turboshaft engine, multi-mission United States Navy helicopter based on the United States Army UH-60 Black Hawk and a member of the Sikorsky S-70 family. The most significant modificatio ...

helicopters. In 2014, RDAF flew F-16 fighter jets in Greenland for the first time, testing the operational capabilities of maintaining sovereignty of the vast arctic airspace.Osborne, Tony.
Denmark Looks To Boost Greenland Defenses
" ''

Aviation Week & Space Technology ''Aviation Week & Space Technology'', often abbreviated ''Aviation Week'' or ''AW&ST'', is the flagship magazine of the Aviation Week Network. The weekly magazine is available in print and online, reporting on the aerospace, defense and aviati ...

'', 29 September 2014. Accessed: 3 October 2014
VideoArchived
on 3 October 2014 In 2005 the RDAF requested information about the possible procurement of a replacement for the F-16 fighter aircraft from the producers of the

Gripen The Saab JAS 39 Gripen (; English: ''griffin'') is a light single-engine multirole fighter aircraft manufactured by the Swedish aerospace and defense company Saab AB. The Gripen has a delta wing and canard configuration with relaxed stabilit ...

Rafale The Dassault Rafale (, literally meaning "gust of wind", and "burst of fire" in a more military sense) is a French twin-engine, canard delta wing, multirole fighter aircraft designed and built by Dassault Aviation. Equipped with a wide rang ...

Eurofighter The Eurofighter Typhoon is a European multinational twin-engine, canard delta wing, multirole fighter. The Typhoon was designed originally as an air-superiority fighter and is manufactured by a consortium of Airbus, BAE Systems and Leo ...

and Joint Strike Fighter, to which the RDAF has been a partner since 1997. Due to this fact Rafale-producer, Dassault Aviation, decided not to participate in the information round as they considered it to be biased towards the JSF option. This also led to the withdrawal of the Eurofighter in 2007, reentering in 2012. Meanwhile, the

Boeing F-18 Super Hornet The Boeing F/A-18E and F/A-18F Super Hornet are twin-engine, carrier-capable, multirole fighter aircraft variants based on the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet. The F/A-18E single-seat and F/A-18F tandem-seat variants are larger and more adv ...

entered the competition in 2008. After several delays, a request for binding information was sent to the four candidates in April 2014 expecting a final decision in mid-2015. On 9 June 2016, the Danish Defence Committee agreed to purchase 27 F-35As to succeed the F-16. The price tag is US$3 billion. In January 2020, Lockheed Martin announced that assembly had begun on L-001, the first of 27 F-35As destined for the Royal Danish Air Force.

Structure

Structure in the late 1980s

Denmark Air Force Tactical Air Command 1989

The Royal Danish Air Force Command was headquartered at

Karup Air Base Air Base Karup is the main air base of the Royal Danish Air Force. It is situated within Midtjyllands Airport, 3 km west of Karup in mid-Jutland. The air base covers 3000 hectares of land of which only a third is inside the operational area ...

and tasked to train, maintain and prepare the army for war. However operational control in peacetime rested with the Tactical Air Command. In wartime the air force's commander would have become the commander of Allied Air Forces Baltic Approaches (AIRBALTAP). AIRBALTAP commanded all flying units, flying reinforcements, all ground-based radar systems and stations, all air defence units and airfields in its sector. In war the entire Royal Danish Air Force would have come under AIRBALTAP. In 1989 the Royal Danish Air Force consisted of the following units: * Royal Danish Air Force, in Karup, commanded by a Danish lieutenant general ** Flyveskolen (Basic Flying School), Avnø Air Base, T-17 Supporter ** Air Force Materiel Command, Karup *** Air Force Depot Service *** Air Force Maintenance Service *** Air Force Ammunition Arsenal ** Tactical Air Command, Karup ***

Aalborg Air Base Aalborg Air Base ( da, Flyvestation Aalborg) also Air Transport Wing Aalborg is a military air base for the Royal Danish Air Force . It is located at Vadum, near Aalborg, Denmark. Aalborg Air Base shares its runway system as well as some servic ...

**** Eskadrille 723, F-16A **** Eskadrille 726, F-16A ***

**** Eskadrille 725, F-35 Draken, TF-35 Draken **** Eskadrille 729, Reconnaissance, RF-35 Draken, TF-35 Draken *** Tirstrup Air Base **** Co-located Operating Base to be reinforced by

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...

squadrons *** Vandel Air Base **** Co-located Operating Base to be reinforced by U.S. Air Force / Royal Air Force squadrons ***

Skrydstrup Air Base Vojens Airport, also known as Skrydstrup Airport is an airport in Vojens, Denmark. It shares runways with Fighter Wing Skrydstrup Fighter Wing Skrydstrup is an air base of the Royal Danish Air Force (RDAF) situated in southern Jutland. It is h ...

**** Eskadrille 727, F-16A **** Eskadrille 730, F-16A ***

Værløse Air Base Værløse Air Base ( Danish: Flyvestation Værløse) is a former Royal Danish Air Force air base located just south of Værløse, Furesø Municipality, 20 kilometres northwest of central Copenhagen, Denmark. Its ICAO code is EKVL. History Fou ...

****

Eskadrille 721 Eskadrille 721 of the Royal Danish Air Force is the sole squadron in 'Air Transport Wing Aalborg' of the Danish Defence. It provides tactical transport for all parts of the Danish state. History Eskadrille 721 (721 Squadron) was formed on 1 Octob ...

, Transport,

Gulfstream III The Gulfstream III, a business jet produced by Gulfstream Aerospace, is an improved variant of the Grumman Gulfstream II. Design and development The Gulfstream III was built at Savannah, Georgia, in the United States and was designed as an im ...

**** Eskadrille 722,

Search and rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

, S-61A helicopters ** Air Defence Command East, Skalstrup Air Station *** Eskadrille 541, Stevns Fort, with 1x

I-Hawk The Raytheon MIM-23 HAWK ("Homing all the way killer") is an American medium-range surface-to-air missile. It was designed to be a much more mobile counterpart to the MIM-14 Nike Hercules, trading off range and altitude capability for a much sm ...

battery (6x launchers) *** Eskadrille 542, Kongelund Fort near Aflangshagen Air Station, with 1x I-Hawk battery (6x launchers) *** Eskadrille 543, Sigerslev Air Station, with 1x I-Hawk battery (6x launchers) *** Eskadrille 544, Tune near Skalstrup Air Station, with 1x I-Hawk battery (6x launchers) ** Air Defence Command West, Karup *** Eskadrille 531,

Odense Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (behind Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2022, the city proper had a population of 180,863 while Odense Municipality had a population of 20 ...

, with 1x I-Hawk battery (6x launchers) *** Eskadrille 532, Odense, with 1x I-Hawk battery (6x launchers) *** Eskadrille 533, Skrydstrup Air Base, with 1x I-Hawk battery (6x launchers) *** Eskadrille 534, Karup Air Base, with 1x I-Hawk battery (6x launchers) ** Air Control Command, at Vedbæk Air Station *** Radar Station on

Bornholm Bornholm () is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea, to the east of the rest of Denmark, south of Sweden, northeast of Germany and north of Poland. Strategically located, Bornholm has been fought over for centuries. It has usually been ruled by ...

, with fixed S-723 radar *** Rader Station in Gripskov *** Radar Station at Skovhuse *** Radar Station in

Skagen Skagen () is Denmark's northernmost town, on the east coast of the Skagen Odde peninsula in the far north of Jutland, part of Frederikshavn Municipality in Nordjylland, north of Frederikshavn and northeast of Aalborg. The Port of Skagen is ...

, with fixed RAT-31DL radar *** Radar Station on Skrydstrup Air Base, with two mobile

AN/TPS-77 The AN/FPS-117 is an L-band active electronically scanned array (AESA) 3-dimensional air search radar first produced by GE Aerospace in 1980 and now part of Lockheed Martin. The system offers instrumented detection at ranges on the order of and ...

radars *** Radar Station, at Sornfelli, Faroe Islands*

Structure in 2020

* Air Command Denmark, at

** National Air Operations Centre, at Karup Air Base ** Joint Movement and Transportation Organization (JMTO), at Karup Air Base ** Emblem for the Prince's Music Corps (Denmark)

Emblem for the Prince's Music Corps (Denmark)

Prince's Music Corps, originally from the army's Prince's Life Regiment ** Air Transport Wing, at

***

, with 4× C-130J-30 Super Hercules, 4× CL-604 (Airborne Surveillance) *** Operations Support Squadron *** Logistic Support Squadron *** Aircraft Maintenance Squadron ** Helicopter Wing, at Karup Air Base *** Eskadrille 722, with 14× AW101 Merlin (3× AW101 detached to Aalborg, Skrydstrup, and

Roskilde Airport Roskilde Airport , officially known as Copenhagen Airport, Roskilde ( da, Københavns Lufthavn, Roskilde, ), is located 4 nautical miles (7 km) southeast of Roskilde near the town Tune. It was opened in 1973 as the first of three planned re ...

on 24/7

Search and Rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

duty) *** Eskadrille 723, with 9×

MH-60R Seahawk The Sikorsky SH-60/MH-60 Seahawk (or Sea Hawk) is a twin turboshaft engine, multi-mission United States Navy helicopter based on the United States Army UH-60 Black Hawk and a member of the Sikorsky S-70 family. The most significant modificatio ...

***

Eskadrille 724 Eskadrille 724 is a Royal Danish Air Force helicopter squadron, housed at Karup Air Base in central Jutland. It was official erected on 7 August 2003, when the Danish army's Royal Danish Army Air Corps (HFT) was disbanded and transformed into E ...

, with 11× AS550 C2 Fennec *** Flyveskolen (Flying School), with 27× T-17 Supporter *** Operations Support Squadron *** Logistic Support Squadron *** Aircraft Maintenance Squadron **

Fighter Wing In military aviation, a wing is a unit of command. In most military aviation services, a wing is a relatively large formation of planes. In Commonwealth countries a wing usually comprises three squadrons, with several wings forming a group ( ...

, at

*** Eskadrille 727, with 15× F-16AM/BM Falcon *** Eskadrille 730, with 15× F-16AM/BM Falcon *** Operations Support Squadron *** Logistic Support Squadron Lockheed C-130J-30 Hercules, Denmark - Air Force JP7136004

Lockheed C-130J-30 Hercules, Denmark - Air Force JP7136004

*** Aircraft Maintenance Squadron ** Air Control Wing, at Karup Air Base ***

Control and Reporting Centre A Control and Reporting Centre (CRC) is according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff publication 1.02 defined as – ''A subordinated air control element of the tactical air control centre for which radar control and warning operations are conducted wi ...

Karup (CRC Karup), reports to

's Integrated Air Defense System CAOC Uedem in Germany *** Mobile Air Control Centre *** Radar Station in

, with fixed RAT-31DL radar *** Radar Station at Skrydstrup Air Base, with two mobile

radars *** Radar Station on

, with fixed S-723 radar ***Radar Station, at Sornfelli, Faroe Islands* ** Operations Support Wing, at Karup Air Base *** Tactical Support Squadron *** Base Protection Squadron *** Mission Support Squadron *** Wing Reserve Squadron **Drone Station at Kangerlussuaq airport* ***With 2x

MQ-9 Reaper The General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper (sometimes called Predator B) is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) capable of remotely controlled or autonomous flight operations developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) primarily for the Unit ...

*As of 2022

Operations

Royal Danish Air Force F-100 Super Sabre patch

*From 1960 to 1964 RDAF S-55 helicopters flew missions for UNOC in the Congolese civil war. *In 1999, 9 F-16 fighters flew sorties over

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

from Grazzanise AB,

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

as part of

. *In 2002 and 2003, 6 F-16 fighter bombers flew 743 sorties against

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...

and

al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...

from Ganci AB,

during

. *From July to October 2004, 4 F-16 fighters in

Šiauliai Šiauliai (; bat-smg, Šiaulē; german: Schaulen, ) is the fourth largest city in Lithuania, with a population of 107,086. From 1994 to 2010 it was the capital of Šiauliai County. Names Šiauliai is referred to by various names in different l ...

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

, was Denmark's contribution to NATO's Operation

Baltic Air Policing The Baltic air-policing mission is a NATO air defence Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) in order to guard the airspace above the three Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Mission Within the Alliance, preserving airspace integrity is con ...

. The air policing mission was also undertaken by Danish F-16s in 2009, 2011 and 2013 * In 2005 three AS550C2 Fennec helicopters were deployed to Iraq for two months to assist the Danish ground forces during the first free elections in the country. In 2007 four Fennecs again deployed to Iraq, this time mainly to provide airborne reconnaissance for convoys on the ground around

Basra Basra ( ar, ٱلْبَصْرَة, al-Baṣrah) is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab. It had an estimated population of 1.4 million in 2018. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is hand ...

. The helicopters completed 354 missions before returning home in December 2007. *4 AS550C2 Fennec helicopters belonging to the 724th Squadron of the Helicopter Wing were deployed to

on 11 June 2008. These helicopters were based at

Camp Bastion Camp Shorabak (formerly Camp Bastion) is a former British Army airbase, located northwest of the city of Lashkargah in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. The camp was situated in a remote desert area, far from population centres. The camp was built ...

, northwest of Lashkar Gar, the capital of

Helmand province Helmand (Pashto/Dari: ; ), also known as Hillmand, in ancient times, as Hermand and Hethumand, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan Afghanistan is divided into 34 provinces (, '' wilåyat''). The provinces of Afghanistan are the primar ...

, and were assigned to provide high altitude observation for Danish ground forces, as well as light transport. * From 19 March 2011, 6 F-16 aircraft from Fighter Wing Skrydstrup were deployed to

Naval Air Station Sigonella Naval Air Station (NAS) Sigonella is an Italian Air Force base ('' it, Aeroporto "Cosimo Di Palma" di Sigonella''), and a U.S. Navy installation at Italian Air Force Base Sigonella in Sicily, Italy. The whole NAS is a tenant of the Italian Air ...

on Sicily to assist in maintaining the no-fly zone over

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...

as part of the 2011 coalition intervention in Libya. * From 11 July 2014, 3 EH-101 Merlin helicopters were deployed to Afghanistan. One suffered extensive damage when it rolled over during landing on 11 October 2014. No casualties.Helikopter Hold 1 er hjemme igen
" ''RDAF'', 30 October 2014. Accessed: 31 October 2014. * From 5 October 2014, seven F-16AM from Eskadrille 727 and 730 from Skrydstrup Airbase (

Fighter Wing Skrydstrup Fighter Wing Skrydstrup is an air base of the Royal Danish Air Force (RDAF) situated in southern Jutland. It is home to the 30 operative F-16 Fighting Falcon fighters of the RDAF along with a Saab T-17 Supporter, and a single search and rescue h ...

) and 140 Danish personnel – ground crew and pilots – based at

Ahmad al-Jaber Air Base Ahmad al-Jaber Air Base is a Kuwait Air Force base that is home to 3 Kuwait Air Force F/A-18 C/D squadrons: 9 Squadron, 25 Squadron, and 61 Squadron. The base also has an area designated for operations by the U.S. Air Force and its allies. Hi ...

in Kuwait to fight the

Islamic State An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...

forces (ISIS / ISIL) as part of

Operation Inherent Resolve Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) is the U.S. military's operational name for the International military intervention against IS, including both a campaign in Iraq and a campaign in Syria, with a closely-related campaign in Libya. Throu ...

Aircraft

Current inventory

Royal Danish AirForce F-16 Solo display RIAT 2011

Ranks

Commissioned officer ranks

The rank insignia of

commissioned officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent context ...

Other ranks

The rank insignia of

non-commissioned officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who has not pursued a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. (Non-officers, which includes most or all enli ...

s and

enlisted personnel An enlisted rank (also known as an enlisted grade or enlisted rate) is, in some armed services, any rank below that of a commissioned officer. The term can be inclusive of non-commissioned officers or warrant officers, except in United States m ...

References

Bibliography

* * Butler, Phil and Tony Buttler. ''Gloster Meteor: Britain's Celebrated First-Generation Jet''. Hersham, Surrey, UK: Midland Publishing, 2006. . * Crawford, Alex. ''Bristol Bulldog, Gloster Gauntlet''. Redbourn, UK: Mushroom Model Publications, 2005. . * De Jong, Peter. ''Le Fokker D.21 (Collection Profils Avions 9)'' (in French). Outreau, France: Éditions Lela Presse, 2005. . * Green, William and Gordon Swanborough. "Annals of the Gauntlet". ''Air Enthusiast Quarterly'', No. 2, n.d., pp. 163–176. * Hall, Alan W. ''Hawker Hunter – Warpaint Series No 8''. Bedfordshire, UK: Hall Park Books, 1997. ISSN 1363-0369. * Hansen, O.S.:''Danskernes Fly'', 2003, Aschehoug, * Kofoed, Hans. ''Danske Militaerfly Gennem 50 Ar 1912–62''. Copenhagen: Flyv's Forlag, 1962. * * Schrøder, Hans A. ''Det Danske Flyvevåben'', Tøjhusmuseet, Denmark 1992. * Schrøder, Hans A. ''Historien om Flyvevåbnet'', Komiteen til udgivelse af "Historien om Flyvevåbnet", 1990. .

External links

Official website of the Danish Royal Air Force
{{DEFAULTSORT:Danish Air Force Air forces by country Military units and formations established in 1950 Military of Denmark Military of Greenland Military of the Faroe Islands 1950 establishments in Denmark

History

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

Structure

Structure in the late 1980s

Structure in 2020

Operations

Aircraft

Current inventory

Ranks

Commissioned officer ranks

Other ranks

See also

References

Bibliography

External links