U.S. AeroVironment and Denmark Forge New European Hub for NATO Drone Operations.

According to information published by AeroVironment (US) on June 18, 2025, AeroVironment (AV) and UAS Denmark signed a Memorandum of Understanding at Hans Christian Andersen Airport in Odense, establishing the UAS Denmark Test Center as a central European platform for uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) demonstrations, operational training, and integrated joint exercises. This milestone agreement deepens AV’s regional presence following its February 2025 framework accord with the Danish Ministry of Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organization (DALO), highlighting the company’s commitment to rapidly advancing intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) solutions for allied forces.
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AeroVironment JUMP 20 VTOL drone pictured during a flight demonstration. Recently selected by Denmark under a 10-year ISR modernization program, the JUMP 20 will support Arctic operations and maritime surveillance, reinforcing national defense in coordination with AeroVironment’s expanding footprint at the UAS Denmark Test Center. (Picture source: AeroVironment )

The agreement grants U.S. Company AeroVironment privileged access to beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) airspace and state of the art testing infrastructure, significantly boosting its capabilities for live demonstrations and field validation of AVACORE, the firm’s autonomy software, and SPOTR Edge, its advanced computer vision platform. The collaboration not only accelerates AV’s UAS deployment timelines within Denmark but also enhances interoperability and readiness across NATO forces operating in the region. With this access, AV can conduct real-world training and experimentation involving multi-domain operations, C-UAS strategies, and integrated sensor-to-shooter workflows, critical elements in current NATO operational doctrines.

Denmark already operates AeroVironment's RQ-20 Puma tactical drone, introduced into service with the Danish Army in 2012 and upgraded to the Puma AE II variant in 2016. Most recently, Denmark finalized a significant procurement of AeroVironment’s JUMP 20 vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) UAS under a ten-year program signed in February 2025. The JUMP 20, known for its 14-hour endurance and multi-payload capacity, will support ISR missions across Denmark’s strategically sensitive areas, including Arctic deployments and maritime surveillance. First deliveries of the JUMP 20 systems are scheduled to begin within 2025, further reinforcing Denmark’s unmanned operational footprint.

This strategic cooperation opens significant opportunities across several defense and industrial dimensions. For AV and its European partners, the Odense facility offers a real-time operational environment to test and optimize autonomous systems under authentic European airspace constraints. It enables the fast-tracking of crew certification programs, coalition-level UAS tactics development, and multinational integration trials. The test center’s geographic location and infrastructure allow it to serve as a centralized hub for European UAS research and joint mission rehearsals. The collaboration also strengthens Denmark’s position as a defense technology incubator, supporting sovereign innovation while providing a platform for exporting co-developed systems across NATO and partner nations.

Positioning the Odense test center as a core component of AV’s European strategy reflects a timely response to growing regional threats. The current global security climate is marked by intensified hybrid activities, especially in Northern Europe. Denmark has emerged as a pivotal frontline NATO state, responding decisively to heightened tensions with Russia in the Baltic Sea. In 2025, Copenhagen announced the deployment of unmanned saildrones in the Baltic to monitor and secure undersea infrastructure amid fears of sabotage linked to Russian shadow maritime activity. Additionally, Denmark is investing over $600 million to procure advanced surveillance vessels aimed at safeguarding the Danish Straits and bolstering situational awareness in the region.

The strategic value of Denmark’s maritime corridors, particularly the Øresund and Great Belt, has escalated in recent years due to their critical role in NATO logistics and deterrence strategies. Russian naval deployments and intelligence gathering missions in the Baltic region have prompted Denmark to enhance its naval force structure and develop unmanned maritime capabilities, integrating them with ISR platforms for persistent surveillance. The AV partnership complements these national efforts by supplying agile, combat-tested aerial assets capable of augmenting maritime domain awareness and ensuring rapid response capacity in contested environments.

As European defense budgets rise and NATO allies place increased emphasis on unmanned and AI-enabled capabilities, the AV-UAS Denmark collaboration stands out as a force multiplier. It enables rapid prototyping, coalition-wide systems integration, and serves as a scalable model for future public-private defense cooperation in Europe. For AeroVironment, this agreement is more than a geographic expansion, it is a strategic insertion into Europe’s defense fabric at a time when readiness, interoperability, and technological supremacy are paramount.