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US Plans Two New Military Bases in Greenland Under Arctic Deal

US Plans Two New Military Bases in Greenland Under Arctic Deal. Source: amanderson2, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The United States plans to expand its military presence in Greenland by reopening a Cold War-era base in the south and establishing operations at another site on the island’s east coast, according to people familiar with a new security agreement.

The agreement involving the United States, Denmark and Greenland is scheduled to be signed Tuesday at the United Nations General Assembly in New York at 10:30 a.m. ET, or 1430 GMT. Its full terms have not yet been released, and sources said details could remain subject to change until the signing.

The two locations are Narsarsuaq in southern Greenland and Mestersvig on the east coast. Narsarsuaq previously hosted Bluie West One, a major U.S. military installation that Washington closed in the 1950s. The community now has only a few dozen residents.

Mestersvig is currently used by the Sirius Dog Sled Patrol, a Danish special forces unit responsible for operating in Greenland’s remote Arctic territory.

Denmark has framed the new Greenland security agreement as part of a broader NATO approach to Arctic defense rather than a bilateral arrangement managed only by Copenhagen and Washington. NATO has welcomed the agreement as supporting security and cooperation in the strategically important region.

The deal follows months of tensions over President Donald Trump’s push for greater U.S. control over Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish territory. Trump previously declined to rule out military or economic pressure to acquire the island, prompting objections from Denmark and Greenland and creating strains within NATO.

Greenland’s strategic importance has long attracted U.S. military attention. During the Cold War, Washington operated 17 military installations and stationed more than 10,000 personnel on the island.

Today, Pituffik Space Base is the only remaining U.S. military installation in Greenland, hosting roughly 150 American personnel. The planned expansion to Narsarsuaq and Mestersvig would significantly broaden the U.S. military footprint as Washington and its NATO allies increase their focus on Arctic security.

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