Denmark to close shipping strait because of missile malfunction

Denmark announced Thursday that it would close airspace and shipping lanes near a strait off the coast because of a missile malfunction on a navy ship, according to the Politiken newspaper.

The National Maritime Authority alerted vessels to avoid the Great Belt strait route because of "falling missile fragments," and the ships have been recommended to drop anchor if the situation requires, it said.

The military admitted in a statement that the problem started "during a mandatory test where the missile launcher is activated and cannot be deactivated."

"Until the missile launcher is deactivated, there is a risk that the missile can fire and fly a few kilometres away," it added.

Media reports suggest that the missile was launched from the Niels Juel frigate, which is associated with NATO's standing naval force since 2023.

The missile contained 150 kilograms (331 pounds) of explosives was not armed and would not detonate if it crashed into the sea, said the defense ministry.

The closure of the airspace comes one day after Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen relieved the head of the military following technical problems that caused a navy frigate to suffer outages during a live combat situation in the Red Sea.

Poulsen announced the sacking of Flemming Lentfer but did not specify a reason. Media reports, however, said that Poulsen no longer had confidence in the defense chief.

The OLFI military news website reported that the government discharged Letfer because he failed to report flaws in the Iver Huitfeldt frigate's air defense and weapons systems, which emerged during an attack last month by militants in the Red Sea.