The US government has approved the sale to Denmark of three Boeing P-8A maritime patrol jets, clearing a path for another NATO ally to operate the 737-based surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft.

The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said on 29 December that the US State Department approved the sale under the USA’s Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programme.

The approval covers $1.8 billion worth of US military equipment, including three P-8As equipped with “Indirect Fire Protection Capability”.

It also covers four “joint tactical radio systems”, transmitters and processors for Northrop-Grumman-made Guardian AN/AAQ-24-(V)N anti-missile laser countermeasures, and eight Northrop LN-251 navigation systems.

Denmark is additionally set to receive mission software, electro-optical/infrared systems, missile warning sensors and radars, the DSCA notice says.

“This proposed sale will support the foreign policy goals and national security objectives of the United States by improving the security of a NATO ally that is a force for political stability and economic progress in Europe,” it adds.

The sale “will enhance Denmark’s capability to meet current and future threats by providing a credible force that is capable of deterring adversaries… Denmark will have no difficulty absorbing this equipment into its armed forces”, says the notice.

The DSCA – a US Department of War division that oversees the FMS programme – has forwarded the FMS approval to Congress, as required. The sale will not be final until after a Congressional review period and after the parties sign off.

It is unclear when Denmark might receive its first P-8A. Neither Boeing nor the Danish ministry of defence immediately responded to requests for comment.

FlightGlobal reported in September that Denmark was exploring acquiring P-8As, with Danish defence minister Troels Lund Poulsen saying Copenhagen intended to invest millions of Euro on an unspecified number of US-made jets to patrol coastal Greenland waters.

“I would prefer that we cooperate with other NATO countries to get the most for the money and to have a greater degree of flexibility,” he said at the time on Danish television. “But if that is not possible, I am also willing for us to acquire the P-8 aircraft capacity ourselves.”

“We need to have a better picture of what is happening around Greenland and the Faroe Islands,” Poulsen added.

NATO members Germany, Norway, the UK and the USA also operate P-8s, while member Canada is in the process of acquiring up to 16 of the jets. 

Other P-8 operators include Australia, India, New Zealand and South Korea, according to FlightGlobal’s 2025 World Air Forces directory.