Amid growing tensions generated by U.S. President Donald Trump’s intention to annex Greenland, Denmark and its European allies continue to increase the presence of their Armed Forces in the region, now launching the Arctic Endurance exercise. As described by the Danish Ministry of Defence, this decision comes within the framework of a significant shift in security policy for the Arctic and the North Atlantic, both for the country and for NATO as a whole, and is also in line with the announcements made in 2025 regarding Copenhagen’s plans to strengthen defense capabilities on the island.
According to the ministry, last week was marked by the arrival of multiple allied teams to carry out initial visits aimed at conducting planning missions within Greenland, where deployed reconnaissance teams focused on assessing the terrain’s geographic conditions, available transport, and other logistical aspects. Once this phase was completed, some of the deployed teams returned to their respective home countries to continue with subsequent stages of the exercise, while others remain stationed on the island.
It was also detailed that additional teams are en route to the area to contribute to the development of activities in the near future, notably including the deployment of a Danish “main force” to take part in the next phase of the exercise, accompanied by NATO partners. Current plans from Copenhagen indicate that these forces will remain primarily in and around the city of Nuuk, as well as in the Kangerlussuaq area.
In this context, it is worth recalling that these movements come just days after it became known that Sweden has deployed Gripen fighters to neighboring Iceland as part of NATO’s Air Policing mission, where they are expected to remain during February and March. As we have reported, this is an air detachment operating from Keflavík Air Base, working in coordination with Joint Force Command Norfolk (CFC Norfolk), which is responsible for monitoring strategic areas in North America and the transatlantic connection with Europe.
On the other hand, according to OSINT sources cited in various recent reports, the Royal Danish Navy has maintained the patrol vessels HDMS Ejnar Mikkelsen (Knud Rasmussen class) and HDMS Vædderen (Thetis class) deployed in the area; naval exercises were reportedly conducted with these ships that also involved the French frigate Bretagne. It is further added that the Danish Air Force may have carried out overflights with its most modern F-35 fighters over the region, although no specific numbers or dates were provided, raising some questions given the long distances involved from Danish territory to the island.
Despite these initial steps taken by Denmark to reinforce its presence in Greenland with the support of European allies, it should be noted that President Trump once again reiterated his stance regarding the intention to control the island during the Davos Forum. There, he described the territory as vast but sparsely defended and inhabited, yet key to countering Chinese and Russian projection, later denying that the move was motivated by Greenland’s rare earth resources.
Among some of his more controversial statements, the president said: “What we’ve gotten from NATO is nothing (…) We’ve helped them a lot and we’ve gotten nothing, we were paying 100% of NATO and all we’re asking for is Greenland to defend it. What I’m asking for is a piece of ice, cold, poorly located, that can play an important role in world peace.” In another remark, he added: “I’ve done more to help NATO than anyone else, they wouldn’t have NATO if I hadn’t been involved in the first term (…) all we’re asking is to get Greenland, including ownership, because you need ownership to defend it.”
Images used for illustrative purposes
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