U.S. has one active base in Greenland as Trump presses to expand presence

President Trump has said the United States needs Greenland for national security and is pursuing proposals to expand its military presence there. Today the U.S. operates a single active facility in Greenland: the Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, where about 150 personnel run missile defense and space surveillance.

Decades ago the U.S. maintained thousands of troops and more than a dozen bases in Greenland, including airstrips at Narsarsuaq, Ikateq and Kangerlussuaq and a string of Cold War radar stations. Many of those sites have since closed; some airstrips, like Kangerlussuaq, have been upgraded into small commercial airports, while others lie in shambles.

A Cold War–era satellite station above Kangerlussuaq, known locally as "Mickey Mouse," still stands but has not been turned on in decades. Administration proposals under discussion include allowing the United States to own pockets of land in Greenland for military bases, a model likened to Britain’s sovereign base areas in Cyprus.

Greenland and Denmark have bristled at giving up any sovereignty, and the outlet said it is unclear such a plan could work. Under a 1951 Danish-American defense pact, the U.S. already has broad access to build new bases and station troops. Most former American bases are in such disrepair that restoration would be difficult, and experts say expansion would most likely focus around Pituffik or possibly the Kangerlussuaq airport.

Key Topics

World, Pituffik Space Base, Greenland, Donald Trump, Kangerlussuaq, Sovereign Base Area