NATO Initiates Artic Sentry To Have A Clearer Presence In The Arctic.

Copenhagen; February 2026: NATO has today announced the launch of the NATO activity Arctic Sentry, which will ensure timely and balanced deterrence in the region. It is still too early to say anything about exactly how the activity will be designed. Denmark, in close coordination with Greenland and the Faroe Islands, will of course contribute substantially, but the precise composition of our contribution must be agreed in coordination with NATO and allies.

Arctic Sentry is an activity that, through increased NATO focus on the Arctic, ensures a balanced and timely deterrence in the region and thus supports stability within NATO’s area of ​​responsibility, which also covers the Arctic. The activity will involve an increased NATO presence in the region.

“I am pleased with the broad support from NATO allies to strengthen the military presence in the Arctic. The Kingdom has long pushed for NATO to play a greater role in the Arctic, and in recent months we have intensified that work. I am therefore also extremely pleased that that work is now translating into concrete activity. We will contribute substantially, and then we must maintain momentum to ensure that the Arctic is reflected in NATO’s plans and exercise activities in the long term”, says Minister of Defense Troels Lund Poulsen.

Arctic Sentry is implemented within the framework of NATO, and NATO’s Supreme Military Commander, SACEUR, is responsible for the activity. The activity is still in the planning phase and the Danish contribution will be decided when a comprehensive plan for the activity is available from NATO.

“When the Danish-led exercise Arctic Endurance in future becomes part of NATO’s Arctic Sentry, there will be a significant strengthening of NATO’s northern flank and of the Kingdom of Denmark. The purpose is to demonstrate NATO’s deterrence capability in the northern part of the alliance’s area of ​​responsibility. It also strengthens our overall combat power that under Arctic Sentry, we train together with allies and are present in a larger area in the Arctic and the North Atlantic”, says Chief of Defence Michael Wiggers Hyldgaard.

The coordination of the activity will take place in close dialogue with the Government of Greenland and the Faroe Islands Government. 

“The Arctic is changing, and it is crucial that we cooperate with our NATO allies to strengthen defense and security in the region. It is a shared responsibility for the benefit of the entire Alliance. Naalakkersuisut is substantially involved in NATO work with the goal of maintaining peace and stability in the Arctic and the North Atlantic. The first step on the way is Arctic Sentry, after which we will aim for a more permanent and balanced NATO presence”, says Naalakkersuisoq for Foreign Affairs and Research Vivian Motzfeldt.

In recent years, the Danish Armed Forces have strengthened their presence and their exercise activities with NATO allies in and around Greenland. Most recently with the Danish Armed Forces’ exercise Arctic Endurance, which is an extension of the exercise activity Arctic Assurance from 2025, which includes guarding installations critical to society, assistance to authorities in Greenland, receiving allied troops, deploying fighter aircraft and naval task solving.

In addition, Danish F-35 aircraft have participated in “Operation Noble Defender” in the Arctic in recent weeks. It is an annual recurring operation led by the US-Canadian North American Defence Commands (NORAD).

Team Maverick.