If you ask most people to name a European defence hub, you’ll likely hear Munich or Paris, maybe even London. Denmark gets you Lego, wind turbines and a national reputation for being extremely reasonable about most things. That reputation is now doing a poor job of describing reality.
A defence tech scene has taken root – and fast enough that even the people running it seem slightly started. Danish drones have been flying reconnaissance missions in the Ukraine since 2022 and Danish counter-drone kit was reportedly helping guard airspace at the 2026 World Cup.
What has changed?
How Denmark Went From Opting Out To All In
For thirty years, Denmark sat out of EU defence co-operation entirely. That came to an end in June 2022 when the country voted decisively to scrap the opt-out.
In February 2025, the government established the Acceleration Fund worth DKK 50 billion – roughly £5.6 billion – explicitly designed to buy fighting capability at speed, pushing Danish defence spending above 3% of GDP.
Then came the drone incursions. After unidentified drones were spotted over Karup and Skrydstrup air bases and several civilian airports in late September of 2025, Denmark committed DKK 2.1 billion to counter-drone systems and AI-based decision support.
What followed are six startups driving the shift, from a scaleup circling a billion-dollar valuation to a startup whose aircraft hasn’t left the ground yet.
6 Startups Driving Denmark’s Defence Tech Boom
Spanning Copenhagen, Odense and North Jutland, these startups are building everything from reconnaissance drones and counter-drone systems to autonomous vessels and unmanned cargo aircraft.
1. Sky-Watch
Founded in Støvring, Sky-Watch builds the RQ-35 Heidrun, a hand-launched, fully autonomous fixed-wing reconnaissance drone. It’s been in continuous frontline use in the Ukraine since 2022. In March of that year, they were acquired by AIRO Group. In June 2025, AIRO listed on the Nasdaq at $10 a share, raising $61.5 million net.
Then came the commercial validation. Last year, the Netherlands Ministry of Defence chose the Heidrun for company-level ISR, with deliveries through 2026 and a seven-year support agreement.
A longer-range successor, the RQ-70 Dainn, was unveiled at Eurosatory last month, with production slated for January next year.
2. MyDefence
MyDefence was founded by former Danish military officers and engineers. They make radio-frequency detection and jamming systems that are wearable, vehicle-mounted and perimeter, rather than the fixed radar towers that often dominate the category.
Approximately two thousand units are deployed in the Ukraine, and the US Army ordered 485 wearable counter-UAS systems in a $26 million contract – a significant milestone for the startup to date.
Bridgepoint, a private equity firm, took majority control in 2024 and has been preparing an auction that could value MyDefence at around $1 billion.
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3. BlinkTroll Robotics
Founded in 2022 by two former Norwegian soldiers, BlinkTroll builds autonomous, wire-mounted moving target systems. The unit runs on a wire or static rope, is controlled from a tablet over its own Wi-Fi signal and needs almost no range infrastructure.
In June last year, the startup raised €1.5 million in pre-seed funding led by Nordic space-and-defence fund Final Frontier. The system is already used by Danish and Norwegian armed forces.
4. OODALOOP Technologies
Named after the military decision cycle, OODALOOP is building mass-producible, pilot-assisted expendable drone systems. Expendable is the operative word here – these aircraft aren’t designed to come back home.
Its co-founder frames it around training. The same drone can teach soldiers and police how to fly and how to defend against a drone as a threat. The company runs both small FPV drones and larger fixed-wing platforms, split between Odense and Aarhus.
Despite being less than a year old, OODALOOP has received funding from the APUS programme, run by Odense Robotics and CenSec to push towards mass production.
5. DanaDynamics
DanaDynamics builds modular unmanned surface vessels and SKIPPER, an autonomous navigation system that can be retrofitted to existing workboats and RIBs. The firm works with the Danish Maritime Authority, the Geodata Agency and the Environmental Protection Agency.
The company has been backed by the Danish Maritime Fund, ESA BIC Denmark and Odense Robotics.
6. Acodyne
Founded in Copenhagen in 2023, Acodyne is building an unmanned eVTOL cargo aircraft that takes off vertically and then transitions to fixed-wing cruise. Their E100, E200 and E500 platforms are designed to haul 100-500kg at cruise speeds of up to 450km/h with a range of around 500km, using ducted-fan lift and an AI autonomy stack.
Last month, Acodyne raised €2.5 million in pre-seed funding co-led by Swedish defencee VC Gungnir Capital and Denmark’s PSV Hafnium. Its four co-founders hail from the Danish Ministry of Defence, Scandinavian Airlines, Cobham Aerospace Communications and DTU space. Currently, their first flight tests are planned before the end of the year.
