The purpose is to mobilise the knowledge and expertise of Denmark’s universities and GTS institutes to support the development of the Danish Defence, thereby helping to protect our society and its values. At the same time, the aim is to ensure that these developments benefit education and society at large, with a focus on civilian applications.

Funding has been approved by the Danish Parliament through the Finance Act’s research reserve. The latest agreement, Agreements on Research and Innovation 2026–2029, was adopted in November 2025. Read it here - in Danish.

This marks the first time that Denmark’s development and research sector has united in a close and binding collaboration on defence and security.

The idea for the National Defence Technology Centre was jointly developed by DTU and Aalborg University (AAU) following dialogues with the Danish Defence, industry, the sector, interest organisations, and political stakeholders. As initiators, AAU and DTU serve as the secretariat and as chair and vice‑chair of the steering committee, respectively.