Greenland has enough bases to defend itself, commander says

NUUK – Greenland has enough bases and permanent troops to support NATO operations and deter Russian threats as Denmark’s multi-billion-dollar push to strengthen defences in the Arctic remains in its early stages, said the Nordic country’s top military commander on the territory.

Soren Andersen, head of the Joint Arctic Command in Greenland, said the region’s primary security challenge is tracking Russian and Chinese submarine activity in the GIUK gap, a strategic North Atlantic chokepoint, a task that relies more on surveillance and monitoring capabilities than additional troops on the ground.

“The Danish Armed Forces have the installations we need for the defence of Greenland,” he said in an interview.

“There are other ways of operating that don’t necessarily require us to have our feet firmly planted on the ground in Greenland.”

Monitoring submarines requires ships, drones and surveillance aircraft “that aren’t necessarily manpower-intensive, but that enhance credible deterrence,” Andersen said.

Those capabilities often operate from locations such as Iceland and the UK, rather than from bases in Greenland.

Denmark has pledged to spend an additional 42 billion kroner (S$8.35 billion) to protect the vast Arctic territory after US President Donald Trump revived his push for US control over Greenland for security reasons.

The US president has previously belittled Copenhagen’s plans to protect the territory, quipping that it amounted to little more than deploying “two dog sleds.”

Still, “not very much” equipment has arrived in Greenland, Andersen said. “There are still quite a few capabilities that are outstanding.”

Denmark and Greenland are “standing in line” to buy assets such as drones, maritime patrol aircraft and aerial refueling capacity, facing the same supply constraints as other countries racing to expand their militaries, he added. 

The first ground-based air-defence systems have already arrived, with the first coastal radar for Nuuk due in July and construction of a new port and military headquarters also set to begin in 2026.

The full buildup is expected to be completed by 2033, by which point almost every capability under his command will have been renewed, Andersen said.

He added that Denmark is pushing ahead with infrastructure, recruitment and training while accepting that new capabilities will come online in stages.

Other planned equipment investments for Greenland include Arctic ships and icebreakers, and a nuclear monitoring station and air warning radar in the eastern part of the territory.

The buildup comes as diplomatic talks between Denmark, Greenland and the US over security on the vast, sparsely populated island of about 57,000 people enter a sixth month.

Officials have kept details of the negotiations, which largely centre on expanding security cooperation, closely guarded.

American officials are seeking to establish three new bases in southern Greenland, the BBC reported, while Danish broadcaster DR reported that a US military officer visited a remote settlement to assess conditions for a potential military presence.

If a future agreement with the US led to additional bases in Greenland, Andersen said that the Danish military would evaluate how they could be used operationally and whether they would strengthen existing capabilities.

“Whether we can do something together with the Americans, whether they can build additional bases that would allow us to operate better than we do now, only time will tell,” he said.

In January, tensions between the US and Denmark escalated after Trump refused to rule out military action, prompting Denmark and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation allies to send troops to Greenland.

While the operation was publicly presented as an exercise, Copenhagen deployed troops with live ammunition who were prepared to blow up airport runways to prevent US forces from landing if Trump chose to take the island by force, according to a report by DR.

Andersen declined to comment on the report, saying only that the effort was about “strengthening the defence of Greenland.”

He said the soldiers sent to Greenland at the time have since been replaced by others taking part in exercises, while permanent staffing levels remain unchanged. 

The risk that the US might take Greenland by force was a “real concern” earlier in 2026, said Denmark’s Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, at an annual political festival on June 11.

While that threat has since subsided, he said Trump’s goal to acquire the semi-autonomous Danish territory remains, and is now being pursued through other channels.

“The ambition hasn’t gone away,” Rasmussen said. “We’re not safe. We’re not.” BLOOMBERG