Denmark to spend $2 billion to increase military presence in Greenland

Danish officials on January 29 announced a $2 billion procurement plan, aiming to buy three Arctic patrol ships, two long-range unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and several maritime patrol aircraft to increase their military presence in Greenland.

The program was announced as Denmark faces increasing pressure from US President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly expressed his intention to buy Greenland.

The new vehicles will replace aging patrol boats and aircraft, providing the country with additional surveillance capabilities around Greenland.

"We are facing serious challenges regarding security policy. The Danish Defense Intelligence Agency assesses that the threats in the Arctic and the North Atlantic have become much worse, so we must significantly increase our military presence there," said Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen.

The procurement program is part of a security pact between Denmark and the autonomous territories of the Faroe Islands and Greenland, with the aim of increasing patrol and surveillance capabilities in an area of ​​more than 1.7 million square kilometers.²with more than 43,000 km of coastline.

One of Denmark’s main priorities is to replace its four Thetis-class patrol boats, which were commissioned in the early 1990s and have become increasingly unreliable. The Danish navy’s chief of staff, Henrik Ryberg, said the vessels were frequently damaged and unable to operate.

Denmark currently operates four CL-604 Challenger aircraft for maritime patrol, surveillance and transport. They were upgraded a decade ago, but the Danish Ministry of Defense says the aircraft are nearing the end of their operational life and need to be replaced.

Minister Poulsen said Denmark needed two advanced long-range UAVs that could monitor large areas from a distance and capture detailed images. He did not reveal the model of UAV chosen or when they would be deployed.

Greenland, the world's largest island, is at the center of an increasingly strategic race among major powers to expand control over the Arctic region, gaining military, geopolitical and economic interests there.

Tensions between the US and Denmark over Greenland are rising. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen ruled out a deal to transfer Greenland to the US earlier this month. She said the people of Greenland would decide the future of the territory and insisted the island was “not for sale.”

The United States maintains a significant military presence in Greenland with the Pituffik Space Force base, which allows the United States to project power and gain air superiority in the region. The base also houses a massive radar system for early warning and ballistic missile tracking.