The Ministry of Defence has released a new report on a serious incident involving the Danish frigate Iver Huitfeldt, which took place in the Red Sea in March. During a confrontation with hostile drones, the frigate was unable to fire its air defense missiles for almost half an hour, which could have had catastrophic consequences if the situation had escalated further.
The dramatic episode began early in the morning on March 9, when Iver Huitfeldt was attacked by four drones. The ship’s crew managed to defeat the hostile drones using grenades but encountered serious problems when one of the ship’s primary weapon systems failed. This weapon system was out of operation for about 30 minutes, preventing the firing of air defense missiles.
According to the report from the Ministry of Defence, the situation could have developed fatally if the frigate had also been attacked by missiles during the same time frame. “The ship’s captain assessed that the errors that occurred in the situation ‘could have been decisive in combat if further threats had arisen,'” the report states.
The Defence Command has analyzed the incident and concluded that although the threat from the drones was handled with the available means, the risk would have been significantly higher if there had been further missile attacks. This is because one of the ship’s other vital weapon systems, a 35 mm cannon, also experienced technical problems and was only sporadically usable during the attack.
This incident has highlighted the necessity of ensuring that all weapon systems on Danish warships are fully operational and ready for use at all times to protect the nation’s security during potentially dangerous missions in international waters. The Ministry of Defence has subsequently implemented a series of measures to improve technical maintenance and emergency procedures on Iver Huitfeldt and other ships in the fleet to avoid similar situations in the future.