The Danish government has fired the chief of defense after he reportedly failed to disclose malfunctions aboard the frigate Iver Huitfeldt during its deployment to the Red Sea. Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen announced the dismissal on April 3, citing critical weapon and mission systems issues that were unreported and ignored.
Flemming Lentfer, the former chief of defense, has been replaced by Maj. Gen. Michael Wiggers Hyldgaard, who currently leads the country’s special operations command. Lund Poulsen stated that he was unaware of the ship’s defects until reports were published.
The frigate Iver Huitfeldt was scheduled for deployment as part of Operation Prosperity Guardian but returned home early due to reported faulty equipment, including issues with the active phased array radar manufactured by Thales Nederland.
Denmark faced another problem with the frigate Niels Juel, a sister ship of the Iver Huitfeldt, after an incident on April 4 where the booster rocket of a Harpoon missile was activated during a test, prompting concerns of an accidental launch. Investigations into the incident were ongoing as of Thursday afternoon.
