Denmark has become the latest country to purchase Finland’s Blocker naval mines, following Lithuania’s decision one day earlier to proceed with its own contract for the weapon. The acquisitions add two more Baltic region customers to the Finnish made system.

Finland’s forces already operate the proximity sea mines, as does Estonia. Estonia purchased the mines in 2021, giving the weapon an established foothold among countries bordering strategically important northern European waters.

Denmark will make its acquisition through a five nation joint procurement agreement involving Finland, Lithuania, Germany and Norway. Germany and Norway have not publicly announced contracts to purchase the Blocker mine.

Lithuania’s ministry of defense said its Blocker procurement is also moving through the Naval Mines Cooperation agreement. That arrangement emerged from a program launched in 2024 and extends beyond simply placing shared orders.

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The Danish ministry of defense said the NMC agreement is intended to “strengthen cooperation on logistics, training, exercises and the lifespan of the systems.” The framework therefore covers how participating countries support, operate and maintain the mines.

Finland’s military signed a contract with manufacturer Forcit Defence in June on behalf of the five countries involved in the NMC procurement scheme. The Finnish government said the contract was worth “hundreds of millions of Euros.”

The original declaration of intent was signed by 10 countries: Belgium, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Finland and Estonia. All 10 countries are members of NATO.

Germany could still announce a procurement decision this year, according to German industry publication Hartpunkt. The publication cited “well-informed circles” in reporting the possibility of a German decision.

Finland is serving as the lead nation for the naval mines cooperation project. Its military linked that role directly to the Finnish Navy’s established experience and capabilities involving naval mines.

“Selecting Finland as the lead nation of the naval mines cooperation project is a reflection of the Finnish Navy’s long-standing capability in naval mining,” the Finnish military wrote in a statement.

Forcit Defence advertises the Blocker mine as carrying explosive power equivalent to a ton of TNT. The weapon uses a range of sensors to detect ships, according to the manufacturer’s description.

Naval mines have drawn substantial attention this year because of Iran’s use of the technology to block the Strait of Hormuz. Iran used the mines while holding a large portion of global energy supplies hostage in response to the U.S.-Israeli campaign against it.

The Baltic Sea has also become a major point of tension, particularly since Russia’s full scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Finland and Sweden have since joined NATO, leaving the sea surrounded by alliance members except along Russia’s Kaliningrad and Leningrad Oblast coasts.

That geography creates a strategic problem for Russia because its ships must navigate narrow routes to reach the open ocean. Russian vessels must pass through the Danish straits and continue through the Kattegat and Skagerrak.

Russia has repeatedly warned that it will not accept being cut off from the Atlantic. Nikolai Patrushev, an aide to President Vladimir Putin and chairman of Russia’s Maritime Board, addressed the issue in a February interview with Russian newspaper Argumenty i Fakty that was reproduced by the Maritime Board of the Russian Federation.

“If we do not give them a firm rebuff, the British, French and even the Baltic states will soon become so emboldened that they will try to completely block our country’s access to the seas, at least in the Atlantic basin,” Patrushev said. “If this situation cannot be resolved peacefully, the Navy will break through and eliminate the blockade.”

Denmark and Lithuania have now publicly moved forward with Blocker purchases through the cooperative framework. Germany and Norway remain participants in the procurement agreement but have yet to publicly announce their own contracts for the Finnish weapon.

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