HDMS Triton from the Royal Danish Navy’s Thetis-class frigate fleet, patrols the waters of Greenland (NATO)
BELFAST — Under a new Arctic and North Atlantic security agreement, Denmark says it will spend 14.6 billion kroner ($2.04 billion) to bolster defense in the region, based on the acquisition of new naval vessels, long-range drones and improved space capabilities.
The pact was struck in “close collaboration” with Greenland and the Faroe Islands, Denmark’s autonomous territories, according to a Danish Ministry of Defence statement.
“We must face the fact that there are serious challenges regarding security and defence in the Arctic and North Atlantic,” said Denmark’s Minister of Defence Troels Lund Poulsen in the statement. “For this reason, we must strengthen our presence in the region. That is the objective of this agreement, which paves the way for further initiatives already this year.”
Copenhagen said the spending pledge covers the purchase of three Arctic naval vessels capable of carrying helicopters and drones; two long-range drones with the “ability to conduct surveillance over large areas at great distances;” and increased situational awareness through additional satellite “capacity.”
A fleet of four Danish patrol vessels currently protect the waters of Greenland year round, operating under the country’s Joint Arctic Command based in Nuuk, according to NATO.
A second Arctic and North Atlantic security agreement is also set to be finalized in the “first half” of 2025. Copenhagen did not disclose any equipment details related to the forthcoming agreement, but said it will focus on “strengthening deterrence and defence in the region.”
The renewed effort to beef up Arctic capabilities follows a flurry of comments from US President Donald Trump threatening to buy Greenland and increase tariffs on Danish goods. Trump also said that he could not rule out taking the territory or the Panama Canal by force.
Earlier this month, Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen pushed back on the military force takeover idea, telling local broadcaster TV 2 “I don’t have the imagination to imagine us getting there.”
Frederiksen met with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte today, but amid the growing tension between the US and Denmark, the alliance took the unusual step of advising press ahead of the meeting that there will be “no media opportunity.”
Frederiksen also met today with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin and French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris. Previewing the “whirlwind day of international diplomacy”, Politico said it was an attempt, on Frederiksen’s part, to prevent Trump’s push for Greenland.
Such efforts follow on from Poulsen announcing in December a separate $1.5 billion Greenland defense spending package covering two inspection ships, two long-range drones and two additional dogsled teams.
Greenland, the world’s largest island, declared self-rule after a referendum in 2009 but defense and foreign policy remain under the control of Denmark.
Situated between the Atlantic and Arctic oceans, the US holds a strategic interest in the island, and as rising temperatures cool Greenland’s glaciers, new shipping lanes are expected to open, likely leading to increased military competition. Existing Russian capabilities across the Arctic already threaten freedom of navigation for Washington and NATO allies.
The US also operates the Pituffik Space Base from Greenland. According to a US Space Force factsheet, the base is the DoD’s “northernmost installation” and is responsible for missile warning, missile defense and space surveillance missions.
It also notes those operations depend on “the solid-state phased-array radar operated by the 12th Space Warning Squadron (12 SWS) and Satellite Command and Control through the Pituffik Tracking Station operated by the 23rd Space Operations Squadron, Detachment 1.”
