First reloading of an American warship in Denmark

By the Danish Defense Command

When the American missile cruiser USS Gettysburg docked in Skagen early on Tuesday morning, it was on its way to making military history in Denmark when it had to be re-equipped with a sharp missile by Danish and US military personnel in cooperation.

On the dock in Denmark, both Danish and American specialists were ready to resupply the American warship with a sharp missile. It is the first time that it has been carried out on Danish soil and helps to strengthen Danish and American cooperation.

"It is the first time that we have re-supplied an American destroyer in Denmark and it is the first time that it has even happened in NATO that two nations cooperate on such a logistical task," says John Ærø Hansen from the Danish Navy Command. "We do this because the NATO nations need logistical support where the units arrive."

Photo: Simon Elbeck / Danish Defence Command

Part of major NATO activity in the North Sea

The resupply of the USS Gettysburg takes place as part of the large NATO enhanced vigilance activity Neptune Strike, which is led by STRIKFORNATO, which is an operational staff in NATO.

The main purpose is for NATO to practice deploying several aircraft carrier groups in NATO areas at the same time. The activity thus contributes to NATO further developing its ability to quickly and flexibly handle complex multi-domain operations.

One of the purposes of Neptune Strike is to increase interoperability (e.g. air-land integration) and thus the alliance's overall defense capability.

A large and important part of that training also involves logistics and resupply of the units – including the destroyer USS Gettysburg, which is part of the aircraft carrier group USS Harry S. Truman.

In addition, Danish, Swedish and American fighter planes will train together in the exercise, just as there will be a number of scenarios in the Kattegat, where it is, among other things, rescuing shipwrecked aircrews in hostile waters and neutralizing sea mines.

Joint training is important to NATO

Twice before, the USA and Denmark have trained to reload warships with missiles here at home. It has happened on the Danish frigates Niels Juel and Peter Willemoes, but both times it has been with dummies – that is, not with a sharp functional missile.

This time it was with a sharp missile that was hoisted aboard the USS Gettysburg in Skagen.

"This resupply and this activity clearly strengthens our opportunity to cooperate with the Americans in the future," says John Ærø Hansen.

This shows and emphasizes that the Danish and American navies are becoming ever more closely linked. The cooperation is hugely important for both nations and the ability to understand each other's procedures and ensure that our systems, technically speaking, can work together across nations will be crucial in a crisis situation.

"It strengthens our activity options and supports resupply and the possibility of operating in more places. This is crucial to being able to complete the mission. We have limited resources – including the United States – so the more places we can resupply and recharge the better,” says John Ærø Hansen from the Danish Navy Command.

Photo: Simon Elbeck / Danish Defence Command

In the temporary military area at Skagen Harbour, where the resupply took place, the police and the Home Guard were responsible for external security, while the resupply itself was carried out by personnel from the Danish Navy,  FMI and the US Navy.