Denmark is building its counter-drone architecture in layers, with a different vendor on each one. On Oct. 8, the Danish Ministry of Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organisation (DALO) awarded Systematic a contract for a command-and-control (C2) system for the Danish Armed Forces' counter-UAS operations. The contract was announced in a DALO press release reported by Janes. The new system will connect Systematic's SitaWare Suite to the counter-drone capability Denmark already has, including the Terma C2 system DALO selected in August.

Systematic calls it the "first known contract by a NATO member for C2 ready to integrate AI-supported analysis." That claim appears in the company's own press release, and no independent source has confirmed it. Neither the contract value nor the delivery timeline has been disclosed, according to Nordic Defence Sector.

Two contracts, two layers

The Systematic award makes more sense read alongside the earlier one. On Aug. 19, DALO announced it had selected Terma for an integrated counter-drone C2 system. Unmanned Airspace described the Terma system as nationwide. Per Terma, its job is to connect existing and future sensors operated by the Danish Armed Forces, civilian authorities and critical infrastructure operators.

That system runs on Terma's Helion data backbone and uses OSL Technology's FACE platform for C2 and data fusion. AI is meant to process, classify and prioritise the sensor data. Terma says it will support the management of drone incidents at military installations, airports, ports, energy facilities, government buildings and other critical infrastructure. The Terma system builds on OSL's earlier work as prime contractor and system integrator for Heathrow Airport's counter-drone system and its delivery of counter-drone systems to Norway's Ørland and Evenes air bases.

Put simply, the Terma/OSL layer is where sensor data comes in and gets fused, and the Systematic award can be read as adding a layer above it for coordination and decisions. According to Janes, DALO says the new system integrates SitaWare with existing C-UAV capabilities for "coordinated decision-making." DALO says it will be deployed at several military sites, and Janes reports that Systematic says it will be integrated with Terma's OSL C-UAV system. Nordic Defence Sector says the Systematic system complements the August Terma agreement and, according to Systematic, the combined setup will give military and civilian agencies a common operational picture.

What SitaWare brings

Two SitaWare components are named in the reporting:

  • SitaWare Headquarters (HQ) gives oversight of counter-drone activity across sites and military domains. In practical terms, that means a single view of what is happening at several defended locations.
  • SitaWare Insight runs AI-supported analysis on historical and near-real-time data. According to Systematic, its purpose is to identify patterns, anomalies and potential threats.

DALO's own description, as reported by Janes, is that an AI tool will analyse and collate data to give a common situational awareness picture. Systematic says the system will be deployed across Denmark and will serve both military and civilian agencies working from that common operational picture. The company also says it will support multinational formations such as the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF).

DALO chief Lt. Gen. Per Pugholm Olsen presented the deal as part of a larger build-out: "The agreement with Systematic is another step in building a strong and coherent capability to handle drone threats." Systematic CEO Nikolaj Bramsen is also quoted in the company's release.

The threat picture Denmark is citing

Systematic's release explains the urgency with several recent developments:

  • Warnings from the Danish Defence Intelligence Service about increased Russian hybrid warfare, including drones.
  • Reported drone activity near Germany's Leipzig/Halle Airport in August.
  • Continual violations of NATO airspace, including incidents over Latvia, Estonia and neighboring Norway.

This is the vendor's framing, and the release does not tie any one incident to a specific requirement in the contract. Still, the pattern matches the August Terma award, which explicitly covers civilian sites like airports, ports and energy facilities alongside military installations. Denmark does not appear to be treating drone incursions as a problem only for the armed forces.

Why It Matters

Most counter-UAS coverage is about effectors: jammers, interceptors, guns. Denmark's two contracts this year are both about command and control. That points to where the hard problem may sit for a country trying to protect many dispersed sites: sharing and interpreting sensor data across many organisations, not just stopping a single drone.

Choosing two vendors for two C2 layers is a real architectural decision. In principle, it lets each company do what it says it is good at. Terma and OSL handle sensor integration and data fusion over the Helion/FACE stack. Systematic handles cross-site oversight and analysis through SitaWare. The risk is at the seam between them. Two C2 products have to share tracks, classifications and alerts quickly enough to matter against a fast-moving threat. None of the published material explains how the integration will work, who owns the operational picture when the two systems disagree, or how civilian agencies will plug into a system run by the military.

Several other questions remain open:

  • Cost. Neither contract value has been disclosed in the reporting, so Danish taxpayers and other NATO buyers have no benchmark for what a layered national C-UAS C2 system costs.
  • Timeline. No delivery schedule has been published. "Deployed across Denmark" describes a goal, not a date.
  • The AI's actual role. Both contracts mention AI, but for different jobs. On the Terma side, AI classifies and prioritises sensor data. On the Systematic side, it analyses historical and near-real-time data to build a shared picture. "Ready to integrate AI-supported analysis" also suggests the capability may not be fully active at delivery. None of the sources say whether the AI will recommend actions or only provide situational awareness.
  • The "first" claim. Systematic's description of this as the first known NATO-member contract of its kind comes from the company itself, and the release does not give the definitions behind it.

If Denmark gets the layers to work together, it could become a template for other small and mid-sized NATO members facing the same drone harassment. If it doesn't, it will be an expensive example of integration risk. The undisclosed cost and timeline mean outsiders won't be able to judge which for a while.

Sources