The Strategic Importance of Greenland

The dispute about Greenland between the U.S. (primarily President Trump) and Denmark has died down. But it is necessary to understand what that discussion was and appreciate the importance of that part of the world.  Greenland’s location is of strategic value to America. U.S. interest in Greenland dates to the 1951 Defense of Greenland agreement. The agreement gives the U.S. a legal and alliance framework to expand use of Greenland militarily, when necessary, without changing its sovereignty as part of Denmark. Greenland is geographically part of North America, sitting northeast of Canada between the Arctic Ocean and North Atlantic. The map below accurately shows the relative size of Greenland to the other land masses nearest to it. This map is a true depiction of Greenland’s size and corrects a common misconception about its size. Granted, Greenland is a huge island, mostly located north of the Arctic circle but it is nowhere as large as it appears on most maps. On most maps Greenland looks to be the size of Africa. Africa is fourteen times larger than Greenland. For scale, note that Greenland is about three times larger than Texas. So, it is certainly a large island but nowhere as large as it appears on most maps. A Mercator map depiction distorts its true size. Greenland is 836,330 square miles in size with the north-to-south distance of 1,660 miles and east-to-west maximum of 650 miles….so it is huge. Two-thirds of Greenland is above the Arctic Circle and mostly uninhabited except for some remote military outposts. Eighty-one percent of Greenland is the Greenland ice sheet with only coastal areas free of ice and thus more habitable. Greenland’s population as of July 2026 is slightly under 57,000 people and almost half live in the capital Nuuk. Politically it is a self-governing part of the Kingdom of Denmark. Home rule came in 1979 and broader self-government in 2009. Denmark retains important responsibilities in foreign affairs and defense, although Greenland's government has an increasingly significant role in decisions directly affecting the island.

Greenland’s geographic position makes it strategically and geo-politically important. It occupies the northeaster shoulder of North America near to Canada across Baffin Bay and the Davis Strait, a mere eighteen miles at its closest point. Greenland is on the path to America from the Arctic Ocean.  Therefore, it is in the route of both approaches to North America from the Arctic from either the air or the sea. The sea path to America is the Greenland-Iceland-United Kingdom, or GIUK Gap, the most critical sea lane for Russian ships, both military and civilian. The GIUK gap is one of the essential defense factors that elevate Greenland in importance to our defense from the north. Thus, Greenland’s strategic importance to the U.S. is a given. The military considerations for America’s defense strategy related to Greenland are:

• Missile defense:  The shortest path for missiles attacking the U.S. is over the Arctic passing over Greenland. The U.S. has maintained an early warning radar installation in Pituffik, Greenland since the 1950’s. Approximately 200 U.S. Space Force and Air Force personnel are there. Their sensors will detect any ICBM or submarine launched ballistic missile threats from any adversary and report those threats to the U.S./NORAD warning system. Both Russian and Chinese ICBMs would follow a polar route over Greenland for east and central U.S targets. Northern Command now includes Greenland under its purview instead of European Command, a change made in 2025 recognizing its strategic location as part of the north. This forward early warning base is critical to the defense of the homeland as seconds count when missiles are inbound.
• GIUK gap is a vital sea lane for Russian ships, both military and civilian.  Some strategists argue the GIUK gap is obsolete.  That is not so. It is the primary route for both Russian attack and guided missile submarines to travel to the Atlantic to be closer to America and make attack on us easier and quicker. In a newer development, reports document Russian development of its Poseidon, a nuclear-powered, nuclear-armed autonomous underwater weapon capable of traveling thousands of miles at great depth. It is both nuclear powered and carries a nuclear warhead. Its speed underwater is rumored to be more than one hundred knots. Its specialized carrier submarines include Belgorod and the newly launched Khabarovsk, which began sea trials in August 2026. Unlike a ballistic missile, Poseidon would approach our shores underwater, making traditional missile defenses irrelevant. The importance of detecting and tracking Russian submarines before they get through the GIUK gap is paramount if we are to neutralize them. While Russian ballistic missile submarines have the range to strike the U.S., those subs are not all that Russia has. Its attack submarines and the rest of its Navy which, after transiting the GUIK gap, remain undetected, can threaten U.S. and allied assets in the Atlantic including convoys from the states. Potential targets from the Russian Navy are U.S. surface forces in the Atlantic, U.S. east coast cities and installations from the sea using cruise missiles, our submarines, and our undersea cables. Having the Russian Navy in the Atlantic forces the U.S./NATO to devote ASW resources to protection of the Atlantic. The GUIK gap remains a critical choke point.
• Space operations conducted from Pituffik entail communications to polar-orbiting satellites. Telemetry, tracking, and command of U.S. and allied satellites is from our Greenland base. Pituffik is located 750 miles north of the Arctic circle and is only 947 miles from the North Pole.  It is located on Greenland’s northwest coast. It is the former Thule Air Force base, renamed in 2023. It features a 10,000-foot runway and the northernmost deep-water port.  The port is ice bound much of the year, but the airfield operates year-round.  Since 2025 the U.S. has quietly made important upgrades in Pituffik including upgrading the power system, improving the runway, renovating housing, utilities, and fire protection facilities. The Space Force has said publicly that Pituffik is being modernized so that it can sustain space operations and provide agile force protection. Importantly, in March 2026, NORTHCOM Command General Guillot told the Senate Armed Services committee that the U.S. was interested in developing three more locations in Greenland. These sites would involve space missile defense mission, fighter and tanker operations from Greenland, cruise missiles, and Navy and special operations forces.  Stay tuned.

• Five new arctic vessels
• Adding maritime patrol aircraft
• Increasing use of both long-range and short-range surveillance drones
• Expanded satellite surveillance.
• Two Greenland coastal radars that will improve surveillance of the GIUK gap
• An east Greenland air surveillance radar
• Strengthening of their Greenland special operations patrol
• Creating a specialized Arctic military unit
• A new permanent military unit under their Joint Arctic command
• Expanded training for all military used in Greenland operations
• Development of Greenlandic Rangers
• Icebreaking capability
• A new Joint Arctic HQ in Nuuk
• A new quay in Nuuk
• A new undersea communications cable to Greenland
• Airport improvements:  In 2025 Denmark approved funds to improve the runway, improve their facilities including admin and hangers, and increase security.  
• A stated objective of Denmark to be able to operate its F-35 fighter aircraft from Greenland. The U.S. built F-35 is the most advanced fighter aircraft in the world. With the investment in the new quay, Nuuk is now to become an improved military logistics hub for Greenland.