The United States plans to expand its military presence in Greenland by reopening a Cold War-era base in the south and establishing another military site on the island’s east coast, according to three people familiar with the matter.
The move is expected to form part of a new security agreement between the US, Denmark and Greenland, which the three sides are due to sign at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday.
The two sites are Narsarsuaq, in southern Greenland, and Mestersvig, an east coast military outpost currently used by Denmark’s Sirius Dog Sled Patrol, a special forces unit responsible for patrolling the remote territory.
Narsarsuaq was previously home to the US Bluie West One military base, which Washington closed in the 1950s. Its population has since fallen to just a few dozen people.
The agreement is expected to be signed at 10.30am US Eastern Time on Tuesday. However, its full text has not been made public, and sources said some details would not be finalised until the signing.
The Danish and Greenlandic governments did not immediately respond to requests for comment, while a White House spokesperson declined to discuss the details.
Denmark has said the agreement would place responsibility for Arctic security within the framework of NATO, rather than leaving it solely to the US and Denmark.
The planned expansion follows months of pressure from US President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly expressed his desire for the US to control Greenland and has previously refused to rule out military or economic measures to acquire the semi-autonomous Danish territory.
Trump’s push for greater US control over Greenland intensified in January, triggering tensions within NATO and prompting Denmark and Greenland to negotiate with Washington over Arctic security.
During the Cold War, the US operated 17 military installations and deployed more than 10,000 personnel in Greenland. Today, only Pituffik Space Base remains as a US military installation there, with around 150 American personnel.
The proposed return to Narsarsuaq and military presence at Mestersvig would therefore mark a significant expansion of the US footprint in the strategically important Arctic territory.
