Scope of fulfilment of obligations for industrial co-operation

When a foreign supplier has to fulfil an obligation for industrial co-operation, the fulfilment has to follow some general requirements.

  • Updated 16. January 2024

For all Industrial Co-operation Contracts between the Danish Business Authority and a foreign supplier, the fulfilment has to: 

  1. Concern defence material or services. 
  2. Fall within the scope of fulfilment as defined in Article 6 of the ICC. 

The Danish business Authority must approve that the fulfilment falls within the above requirements. 

Scope of fulfilment

During the individual assessment of measures to develop and maintain defence industrial competencies in Denmark, the Ministry of Defence defines the area(s) within which it is necessary to ensure defence industrial competencies in Denmark in relation to the specific acquisition. If an acquisition is covered by an obligation for industrial co-operation, the foreign supplier must fulfil the obligation within these areas. 

The scope of fulfilment will appear in Article 6 of the ICC, as well as in the tender material from the Ministry of Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organisation. 

Industrial co-operation is open to all Danish companies that wish to operate on the defence market. 

GTS companies are private Danish companies, and they are thereby considered eligible entities for industrial co-operation activities. The public Danish universities are not by themselves considered private Danish companies. However, the Danish universities can be involved in industrial co-operation projects in the following ways:

  • as a third party technology consultant in a project between a Danish company and the foreign supplier
  • as party in a spin-out company formed by one or more private Danish companies
  • via a post-doc or PhD position in a private Danish company financed by the foreign supplier

For ICCs under the 2021 administrative guidelines, the fulfilment must take place within the domain defined by the Ministry of Defence in the assessment of necessity.

The domain must identify, which specific defence industrial competencies and capabilities that need to be developed and maintained in Denmark to support the critical functions and life cycle phases in relation to the specific acquisition.

The domain shall be determined based on the following two criteria:

  1. Which specific critical functions relating to the acquisition are necessary for developing and maintaining Denmark’s defence industrial competences and capabilities?
  2. Which phases of the acquisition’s life cycle are necessary for developing and maintaining Denmark’s defence industrial competences and capabilities?

For ICCs under the 2014 administrative guidelines, the fulfilment must take place within at least one of the strategic technology areas defined by the Ministry of Defence in relation to the specific acquisition. The strategic technology areas were defined in the Defence Industrial Strategy from 2014.

The strategic technology areas are:

  1. Advanced software, including cyber security;
  2. Communications and command control systems;
  3. Surveillance and radar technology;
  4. Operational protection of personnel and military capabilities, e.g. equipment and communication;
  5. Parts of the vehicle area critical for military operations;
  6. Parts of the maritime area critical for military operations;
  7. Advanced materials technology and processing; and
  8. Optimising of energy and environment in military operations. 

Period of fulfilment and type of fulfilment

The foreign supplier can start the fulfilment once the ICC has been activated. 

The foreign supplier can fulfil the obligation through direct procurement or through development projects with a company in Denmark: 

Finding partners to co-operate with 

Industrial co-operation is open to all Danish companies that wish to operate on the defence market. 

Find Danish companies

As a public authority, the Danish Business Authority may not promote one Danish company over another, and for this reason, the Danish Business Authority cannot refer foreign suppliers to specific partners in the Danish defence industry.

The foreign suppliers are responsible for identifying Danish companies with which to co-operate, but they can be assisted in the process by the relevant industry associations in Denmark: 

Find foreign suppliers

The Danish Business Authority continuously updates an overview of unfulfilled industrial co-operation obligations of foreign suppliers.