US plans to revive Cold War-era base in Greenland, open new military site

New Delhi: The United States is set to expand its military range across Greenland, with American forces expected to gain access to two additional locations as Washington deepens its security role in the Arctic territory. The move would bring the US back to a former American military site in southern Greenland while adding a new position on the island’s remote east coast.

The expansion centres on Narsarsuaq, the former site of the US Bluie West One base, and Mestersvig, an eastern military outpost currently used by Denmark’s Sirius Dog Sled Patrol. The two locations would add to the US presence at Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland.

Reuters reported, citing three people familiar with the matter, that the two sites are part of a new security agreement between the United States, Denmark and Greenland that is due to be signed at the United Nations general assembly in New York on Tuesday. The agreement is scheduled to be signed at 10.30am ET (1430 GMT), although its text has not been made public and the sources said its details will only be finalized when it is signed.

Narsarsuaq was an important US military facility during the Cold War before Washington closed Bluie West One in the 1950s, after which the settlement’s population fell to only a few dozen. Mestersvig, meanwhile, is used by the Sirius Dog Sled Patrol, a Danish special forces unit tasked with operating in Greenland’s remote Arctic environment.

The new sites would mark a substantial expansion from the current American military presence on the island. The US maintained 17 military installations and more than 10,000 personnel in Greenland during the Cold War, while around 150 US military personnel are now based at Pituffik Space Base.

The White House declined to comment on the specific details of the agreement but repeated that Tuesday’s signing would “secure and defend” the security of Greenland and the United States. Denmark has said the arrangement would put Arctic security under the Nato framework rather than leaving responsibility solely with Washington and Copenhagen.

RNA Media had earlier reported that the United States and Denmark had reached a security agreement covering Greenland after months of pressure from the United States president, Donald Trump, for greater American control of the territory. Trump had described the arrangement as giving the US permanent control over Greenland’s security, while the agreement itself did not transfer Greenland’s sovereignty to Washington.

The earlier report also noted that the deal could significantly increase the American military presence on the island, although the locations and scale of any new facilities were not yet known.

The proposed expansion comes after Trump repeatedly called for the United States to control Greenland and at times refused to rule out military or economic force to acquire the semi-autonomous Danish territory. Reuters reported that the pressure triggered a diplomatic crisis within Nato and pushed Denmark and Greenland into negotiations with Washington.

The final size of the US presence at Narsarsuaq and Mestersvig remains unclear, including the number of personnel, military equipment and infrastructure that could be deployed there. Those details are expected to become clearer once the United States, Denmark and Greenland formally sign the agreement.