Danish navy missile could launch ANY MINUTE due to technical error: Air space is closed and shipping is warned of potential accidental strike

A Danish naval missile could be launched at any time due to a technical error, forcing the country to close an area of ​​airspace and warn ships of a possible accidental attack.

Denmark’s armed forces said the technical problem occurred with a Harpoon missile on the frigate HDMS Niels Juel during tests at anchor at the Korsoer naval base, west of the capital Copenhagen.

“The launch vehicle, booster, has been activated and cannot be disabled at this time,” the military said in a statement.

The military said the rocket is live, but only the booster is activated and there is no danger of the rocket exploding or traveling further than the booster rocket can lift it.

However, an accidental launch could result in fragments ending up in Danish waters, posing a dangerous risk to other vehicles in the region.

It says: ‘Until the booster is turned off, there is a risk that the rocket will be launched and fly several kilometers away.’

On its web page, the Danish Maritime Authority said a military exercise took place in the Storebaelt strait between the islands of Zeeland and Funen.

The Great Belt shipping lane, which separates the two islands and air traffic over them, was closed between mid-afternoon and 8pm (6pm GMT).

The strait is a busy shipping route that connects the Baltic Sea and the North Sea.

The danger area is estimated at a maximum of 7 km from Korsoer at an altitude of approximately 0.62 km above sea level and not in the direction of the bridge and tunnel connection over the Storebaelt.

According to the connection manager, there was no danger to road and train traffic on the bridge.

Ships in the area have been notified and asked to wait until the problem is resolved, the military said, adding that airspace was also closed.

The incident took place a day after Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen fired Defense Chief Flemming Lentfer after “losing confidence in him.”

This came after another Danish frigate – this time deployed to the Red Sea as part of a US-led operation – suffered from faulty weapons systems last month when it was attacked by Houthi militant drones.

The fault came to light on Thursday when the ship arrived in Denmark.

The failure, which until Thursday had only been reported by local defense media Olfi, citing a confidential report from the ship’s captain, prompted the government to fire Flemming Lentfer on Wednesday.

Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said the dismissal was the result of a breach of trust after Lentfer failed to inform the ministry in detail about the incident on March 9, when the frigate Iver Huitfeldt was attacked by Houthi militants.

Denmark, a founding member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, scaled back its military capabilities after the end of the Cold War in the early 1990s.

The Scandinavian country has announced a major boost in military spending to reach NATO’s target of 2% of gross domestic product, up from 1.4% last year, in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

An accidental missile launch could release fragments into Danish waters, posing a dangerous risk to other vehicles in the region

Thursday’s incident is not the first time Denmark has seen a faulty missile cause chaos.

In 1982, a missile was accidentally fired from a Danish frigate during an exercise and traveled 21 miles (34 kilometers) at low altitude before exploding.

The fireball and subsequent shock wave destroyed four vacant summer cottages and caused minor damage to another 130 buildings in the area.

There were no injuries.