The drone initiative follows the launch of a new joint acquisition for mini and micro-sized drones. 

Armament directors from Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden signed a Technical Arrangement in Helsinki on 22 October, agreeing to jointly procure drones. 

Details of the agreement first emerged that day, via a statement from the Finnish Government. 

The driving force behind the joint initiative is a common desire to reduce individual costs by increasing economies of scale. It is also hoped that the agreement will strengthen industrial capacity, enabling manufacturers to expand production lines. 

It comes as the four countries are launching a joint procurement for mini drones through a Danish Ministry of Defence (MoD) initiative, and micro-sized drones within the framework of the NATO Support and Procurement Agency, the Finnish statement says.  

NATO’s agreed standard for mini and micro-sized drones is 2-20kg and below 2kg respectively.  

This agreement however – whilst centred around drone procurement – also covers cooperation on research, development, and training on the respective systems.  

The countries also agreed to “intensify” their support for Ukraine, according to Finnish Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen. However, no further details of what this might entail were provided. 

The Swedish and Norwegian defence ministries had not replied to DSEI Gateway’s request for comment on when the first contract might be placed under the agreement, or how the countries would bolster their support of Ukraine, at the time of publication. 

When approached by DSEI Gateway, the Danish MoD affirmed the Finnish statement but had no further comments to provide. 

In terms of its execution, a shorter statement – published by the Danish MoD – revealed that the agreement would be enacted through the Nordic Defence Cooperation (NORDEFCO) framework, which also includes Iceland. 

NORDEFCO’s role is to look for areas of potential defence collaboration among the group, based on the upcoming requirements of each country. A previous example of this is the common Nordic combat uniform delivered under the framework.