Recently, it became clear that Denmark has finally chosen which air defense missile system it wants for its military, and the winner turned out to be the European SAMP/T NG.
The Danes plan to order at least four fire units, while their overall air defense upgrade is set to cost €7.77 billion, including the purchase of short- and medium-range systems, with a total of 32 units expected.
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It’s worth noting that the SAMP/T NG won the duel against its American rival, the Patriot system, as Copenhagen had to choose between the two. Cost appears to have played a key role, and there's an interesting nuance worth discussing.
Denmark planned to spend just under $8 billion on its entire air defense program, while at the end of August, the DSCA announced that the U.S. State Department approved the sale of two Patriot batteries three launchers each, plus associated equipment and fewer than 60 missiles for a staggering $8.5 billion.
As Defense Express notes, DSCA pricing usually reflects the maximum estimated cost and can be lower in practice. However, such a high price may have discouraged the Danes from choosing the U.S. system.
The U.S. subsequently reduced the potential deals price by more than 2.5 times. The DSCA notice was updated with the note with an estimated sale price of up to $3.2 billion, which is the version currently on the official DSCA page:
Several interpretations are possible ranging from a simple error to an attempt to offer Denmark a more favorable Patriot price. Notably, the wording an estimated sale price is unusual for DSCA announcements, making the latter scenario the most likely.
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