Denmark launches expanded 11-month conscription, including women, amid Arctic and Ukraine tensions

Around 1,600 new Danish conscripts began an 11-month service this week as the country widens mandatory service to women and boosts troop numbers in response to security pressures in the Arctic and the war in Ukraine.

On Monday, roughly 1,600 Danish recruits commenced an 11-month military service, the first intake under a newly expanded conscription system that now includes women and extends the term from four to eleven months. The reform aims to increase annual conscript numbers to 7,500 by 2033, up from the current 5,000. The batch will undergo five months of basic training followed by six months of operational duties, with a special drone platoon added to the Special Operations Command.

Later this month, a unit of more than 100 conscripts will be deployed to Greenland for a month, taking over tasks from regular troops, a deployment that carries political weight given President Donald Trump's repeated statements about annexing the semi-autonomous region. Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, speaking at the NATO summit in Ankara, pledged Denmark's commitment to defend every inch of NATO territory, including its own.

The conscription lottery, which applies to all healthy 18-year-olds, has historically relied on volunteers, using the draw only to fill shortfalls. Neighboring Nordic and Baltic states maintain similar conscription models.