politics
US Seeks to Expand Greenland Military Presence in Three Areas
The U.S. is seeking to expand its military presence in Greenland, including adding special operations forces and gaining access to three new areas on the Arctic island, the head of U.S. Northern Command told U.S. lawmakers last week.
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The U.S. is working to expand its military presence in Greenland to three additional areas as it seeks to add locations for special operations and establish permanent access to Arctic waters, the commander of Northern Command (NORTHCOM) said last Thursday during testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee.
This is reported by Stars and Stripes.
The expansion would take place on defense areas that were created by a 1951 agreement with Denmark, which controls the semiautonomous territory, and allow the U.S. to close vulnerability gaps in an increasingly contested part of the world, according to Air Force Gen. Gregory Guillot.
Guillot said he wants to add numerous capabilities:
- Space systems to enable the proposed Golden Dome missile defense system.
- The ability to launch fighters and tankers to be “the first line of defense” against cruise missiles that could be launched from the Arctic.
- Ports for special operations forces and the Navy.
“We’re very well established in Canada and Alaska and having more capability along what I call the 2 o’clock approach would be key,” he said, referring to Greenland’s location on the eastern side of the Arctic.
Pituffik Space Base in the northern part of Greenland, the only U.S. military base on the island, provides a lot of space capability but limited capacity for fighters and tankers, Guillot said.
