Danish Armed Forces Increase Their Foothold In Greenland In Cooperating With Allies.

Copenhagen; January 2026: Security tensions have spread to the Arctic. The Government of Greenland and the Ministry of Defence have therefore decided to continue the Defence Force’s increased exercise activity in Greenland in close cooperation with NATO allies. This means that from today(15th January 2026) there will be an increased military presence in and around Greenland – in close cooperation with NATO allies.

The purpose is to train the ability to operate under the unique Arctic conditions and to strengthen the alliance’s footprint in the Arctic for the benefit of both European and transatlantic security. As part of the increased presence in the Arctic and the North Atlantic, the Danish Armed Forces are deploying capacities and units in connection with exercise activities from today, which will result in an increased military presence in and around Greenland of aircraft, ships and soldiers, including from NATO allies, in the coming period.

The exercise activities in 2026 could include guarding installations critical to society, assistance to authorities in Greenland, including the police, receiving allied troops, deploying fighter aircraft in and around Greenland, and naval task solving. Arctic Command will continuously inform the citizens of Greenland about the activities and be in close dialogue with relevant Greenlandic authorities and key actors.

Background to the initiatives –

In the summer of 2025, the Danish Armed Forces strengthened its presence and exercise activity in and around Greenland with a number of initiatives and capabilities, including contributions from allies such as Germany, France, Sweden and Norway. The initiatives involved the deployment of capabilities at sea, on land and in the air, as well as exercises related to the protection of Greenland’s critical infrastructure.

The Government of Greenland and the Ministry of Defence continue to collaborate closely on the initiatives to ensure local involvement and insight into local conditions.

Naalakkersuisouq for Foreign Affairs and Research Vivian Motzfeldt states: “As part of the NATO alliance, it is a core priority for Naalakkersuisut that the defence and security in and around Greenland are strengthened, and that this is done in close cooperation with our NATO allies. The Ministry of Defence and Naalakkersuisut work closely together to launch initiatives and cooperation among both our Arctic and European allies. Once the exercises get underway, the Greenlandic population will be continuously informed about the activities via Arctic Command’s platforms”.

Minister of Defence Troels Lund Poulsen states: “Security in the Arctic is of crucial importance to the Kingdom and our Arctic allies, and it is therefore important that we, in close cooperation with allies, further strengthen our ability to operate in the region. We have done this in 2025, and as a natural extension of the effort, we will continue and expand the cooperation in 2026. The Defence, together with a number of Arctic and European allies, will explore in the coming weeks how an increased presence and exercise activity in the Arctic can be carried out in concrete terms”.

It will be possible to get further comments from Minister of Defence Troels Lund Poulsen and Chief of Defence Michael Wiggers Hyldgaard when they meet at 17:30 Hours (Local Time) at the Ministry of Defence.

Team Maverick.