{"id":37168,"date":"2026-08-13T09:56:43","date_gmt":"2026-08-13T06:56:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/?p=37168"},"modified":"2026-08-13T09:56:44","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T06:56:44","slug":"denmark-orders-rheinmetall-mass-systems-for-its-five-frigates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/denmark-orders-rheinmetall-mass-systems-for-its-five-frigates\/","title":{"rendered":"Denmark orders Rheinmetall MASS systems for its five frigates"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

4 minute read<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Denmark has awarded Rheinmetall a contract worth 745 million krone (about $116 million) to equip five Royal Danish Navy frigates with Multi Ammunition Softkill System (MASS) decoy launchers, strengthening their defenses against anti-ship missiles and other sensor-guided weapons.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Danish Defense Acquisition and Logistics Organization (DALO) awarded the contract to Rheinmetall Waffe Munition GmbH for five self-protection systems for the navy\u2019s two Absalon-class anti-submarine warfare frigates and three Iver Huitfeldt-class air-defense frigates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The deal includes training and a framework agreement covering ammunition supplies and maintenance services. The framework agreement can run for up to 20 years and has a total value of approximately $198 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The initial contract covers seven years, with an option to extend the arrangement for a total of up to 20 years. Integration of the systems will take place at facilities in Kors\u00f8r and Frederikshavn, Denmark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


MASS System to Protect Danish Frigates<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

MASS is an off-board soft-kill countermeasure system designed to protect naval vessels from incoming missiles and other threats that rely on sensors to identify and track their targets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead of physically destroying an incoming missile, a soft-kill system attempts to deceive or disrupt its sensors, causing it to lose track of the ship or select a false target.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Multi<\/a>
Germany’s Rheinmetall Multi Ammunition Softkill System (MASS). (Image Credit: Rheinmetall)<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Rheinmetall describes MASS as a multispectral deception system capable of responding to threats across several parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, including radar, infrared, ultraviolet, electro-optical, and laser sensors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The system uses decoys designed to create a false target that appears more real to an incoming weapon than the ship. The missile can then be diverted toward the decoy rather than continuing toward the frigate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MASS can deploy its countermeasures automatically. The system takes into account factors including wind conditions, the ship\u2019s navigation data, and information about the incoming threat when determining which countermeasure to launch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The system is intended to protect against a range of threats, including anti-ship missiles and laser-guided weapons. Its design also allows it to operate in different environments, from open waters to coastal and riverine areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Danish procurement will cover all five of the navy\u2019s Absalon-class and Iver Huitfeldt-class frigates. The two Absalon-class ships are primarily configured for anti-submarine warfare, while the three Iver Huitfeldt-class frigates provide air-defense capabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A MASS configuration can include up to six launchers, with each launcher capable of carrying up to 32 decoys. Adding MASS to both classes will give the vessels an additional layer of protection against missiles and other sensor-guided weapons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The system is modular and can be adapted for different types of naval vessels. According to Rheinmetall, it can be installed on ships ranging from offshore patrol vessels to frigates and can either operate independently or be integrated with existing command-and-control and weapon-control systems.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Multi<\/a>
Multi Ammunition Softkill System (MASS). (Image Credit: Rheinmetall\/via X)<\/sup><\/em>

<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n


Long-Term Ammunition and Maintenance Support<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Danish agreement extends beyond the initial installation of the systems. The framework arrangement includes the continued supply of ammunition and maintenance services, providing long-term support for the frigates\u2019 new defensive capability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The arrangement is valued at up to $198 million over its potential 20-year duration, compared with approximately $116 million for the initial procurement contract.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The long-term support element is intended to ensure that Denmark can maintain stocks of countermeasures and keep the systems operational throughout their service life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The acquisition also reflects the growing importance of layered self-protection for naval vessels as anti-ship missiles and other precision-guided weapons become increasingly capable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The MASS systems will not replace the frigates\u2019 existing weapons or air-defense capabilities. Instead, they will add another defensive layer intended to disrupt an incoming weapon before it can strike the ship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Such soft-kill systems are particularly important because they can work against threats that use different types of sensors to detect and track their targets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ability to deploy multispectral decoys allows MASS to respond to threats operating across different sensor bands. Its automated operation is also intended to reduce the time needed for a crew to react to an incoming attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to IRIA defense sources, the Danish procurement highlights the increasing emphasis European navies are placing on ship survivability and electronic countermeasures as modern anti-ship weapons become more difficult to defeat through traditional defenses alone.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Upgraded<\/a>
Upgraded version of MASS for the ROK Navy with Offboard Corner Reflectors (OCR). (Image Credit: DAPA)<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The installation of MASS on Denmark\u2019s five frigates will therefore provide the Royal Danish Navy with an additional means of protecting its surface combatants against missile and other sensor-guided threats while extending their defensive capabilities through long-term ammunition and maintenance support.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Denmark has awarded Rheinmetall a contract worth about $116 million to equip five Royal Danish Navy frigates with Multi Ammunition Softkill System (MASS) decoy launchers, strengthening their defenses against anti-ship missiles and other sensor-guided weapons.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":37170,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[62,1],"tags":[6,288,357,53,31,90,728,391,287,63],"class_list":["post-37168","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-europe","category-news","tag-defense","tag-denmark","tag-europe","tag-germany","tag-missile","tag-navy","tag-rheinmetall","tag-ship","tag-submarine","tag-weapons"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7jJWb-9Fu","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Germany-Rheinmetall-MASS-launcher-system.jpg?fit=690%2C370&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37168","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37168"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37168\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37178,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37168\/revisions\/37178"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37170"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37168"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37168"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37168"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}