Denmark plans to spend roughly 27.4 billion Danish kroner ($4.26bn) in an effort to shore up its defence capabilities in the Arctic and stave off threats made by United States President Donald Trump against the Danish semi-autonomous Greenland.
The massive cash injection in defence will cover the purchase of two additional Arctic vessels, a new Arctic command headquarters, a North Atlantic undersea cable and maritime patrol aircraft, the Danish Ministry of Defence said Friday.
Denmark’s military also plans to acquire 16 additional F-35 advance fighter jets, bringing its total fleet to 43 in a move that Chief of Defence Michael Hyldgaard called an “assertion of sovereignty”.
The new jets, he added, will “significantly” boost “the combat power, flexibility and Danish contribution to NATO”.
Denmark has embarked on a fast-moving campaign to build up its defence capabilities in response to both Russia’s war on Ukraine and Trump’s repeated assertions that he wants to acquire – one way or another – Greenland, which was subject to Danish rule for nearly three centuries.
Last month, Denmark made its largest-ever arms purchase of European-made air defence systems worth 58 billion Danish kroner ($9.2bn), and separately announced a “paradigm shift” to acquire – for the first time – long-range missiles in an effort to deter Russia.
Although Trump has not recently returned to his repeated demand earlier this year to “buy” Greenland, Denmark has not forgotten Trump’s threats.
Earlier this week, news outlet Politico reported that Danish President Mette Frederiksen told parliamentarians that while “there is perhaps a feeling that we can breathe a sigh of relief … it is my belief that we cannot”.
The White House has previously defended Trump’s position, saying the president sees Greenland as “a strategically important location, and is confident Greenlanders would be better served if protected by the United States from modern threats in the Arctic region”.
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