Danish Minister of Defense Jakob Ellamann-Jensen, apologized to parliament after Denmark made a decision to buy artillery weapons from Israel's Elbit Systems, after contributing some of its own weapon systems to Ukraine, at the cost of 1.74 billion Danish crowns ($256 million).
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The Ministry was in a rush, urging the finance committee in Parliament to approve the purchase quickly before the offer from Elbit Systems expired at the month's end although it was later revealed that the offer was only valid until the end of June. Ellamann-Jensen said that his intent wasn't to provide Parliament with inaccurate informationץ
Denmark, a member of NATO, has committed to increasing its defense expenditures, aiming for a 2% share of its GDP with 143 billion crowns earmarked over the upcoming decade.
(Elbit promotional clip about deal with Denmark)
The parliamentary committee was not informed of other purchase options such as France's Nexter Systems and South Korea's Hanwha Systems, which could have met the delivery deadline and the Israeli weapons producer had already begun delivery although such weapon sales often take years to complete. Elbit said they had the systems on stock, by way of explaining their expedited delivery.
Officials in the company said this was an internal Danish matter and had nothing to do with Elbit adding that they were happy to be able to provide their customers with their products, at record pace.