Denmark to Buy Covenant's Anthem Ground-Launched Cruise Missile, to Be Built in Germany, and Kongsberg's JSM for Its F-35s
Copenhagen, 22 October 2026
Key points
- Denmark's defence ministry said on 22 October that the armed forces are acquiring Anthem, a ground-launched cruise missile from Covenant, and Kongsberg's Joint Strike Missile for the F-35, on the chief of defence's recommendation and to strengthen "national and collective deterrence"
- Neither the ministry nor the parties to the defence agreement gave quantities, price or delivery dates; TV 2, the national broadcaster, reported that the Anthem missiles will be produced in Germany, where Covenant plans series production north of Leipzig from early 2027
- Kongsberg names Denmark the seventh JSM nation, joining Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan, Norway and the United States; scope and value are still to be negotiated, and the company will inform the market when a contract is signed
- Neither Copenhagen nor Covenant has published Anthem's range, or said whether Denmark is the European customer Covenant said in September it had under contract
Denmark has chosen two long-range missiles at once: Covenant's Anthem, launched from the ground and to be built in Germany, and Kongsberg's JSM for its F-35 fleet. It has not said how many, at what price, or when.
The ministry describes both as weapons "requested by NATO" that can deter attack and, if necessary, "strike back deep inside enemy territory". Jeppe Bruus, the defence minister, told TV 2 he was following the chief of defence's advice and requirements. The JSM is a stealthy air-to-surface missile carried inside the F-35A's weapons bay; TV 2 put its range at up to 550 kilometres. Anthem comes from the Israeli-American start-up that came out of stealth in September, with a payload above 200 kilograms and a unit price it put in the mid-six figures in euros; reports put the range above 1,000 kilometres. TV 2's correspondent estimated perhaps two to three years before the equipment is in place. The order follows Denmark's coastal Naval Strike Missile purchase earlier in October.
Denmark has named Anthem as a buy; in Germany, where the missile will be built, it has been reported only as a candidate. German planning documents reported in June named it among three options for a low-cost cruise missile to be qualified in 2027, and no Bundeswehr order was named at Covenant's Leipzig site event on 5 October. The Danish announcement is also less complete than its wording suggests: the ministry calls both acquisitions carried out, but Kongsberg says the JSM terms are still to be negotiated, and no Anthem contract has been published. Signal No. 174 left open whether Denmark is the unnamed customer behind Covenant's Leipzig line. A Danish award notice, or Covenant naming Copenhagen, would answer it.
Related · Covenant Anthem and European deep strike
- Covenant Confirms Anthem Cruise-Missile Line at Leipzig From Early 2027, 1,000 a Year Designed for 5,000
- Berlin Plans a Four-Track Deep-Strike Mix — Typhon, Covenant Anthem, Flamingo, Bars — After the Tomahawk Halt
- Denmark Buys More Naval Strike Missiles for Its New Coastal Battery — Norway's FMA to Denmark's DALO
