Denmark will spend two billion USD to increase military presence in Greenland

Denmark officials on January 29 announced the shopping plan worth two billion USD, aiming to buy three patrol boats in the Arctic region, two drones (UAV) long -range and some weekly aircraft Sea detective to increase military presence on Greenland Island.

The program was announced while Denmark faced the increasing pressure from US President Donald Trump, when he repeatedly expressed his intention to buy the Greenland Island.

The new series of vehicles will replace the deteriorated patrol boats and aircraft, providing the country’s supervision around Greenland.

“We are facing serious challenges related to security policies. The Danish Defense Intelligence Agency assessed that threats in the Arctic and the North Atlantic Ocean were much worse, due to because That we have to significantly increase the military presence here, “said Defense Minister Trels Trels Lund Poulsen.

The shopping program is part of the security treaty between Denmark and the autonomous territories including the Faroe and Greenland Islands, with the goal of enhancing patrol capacity and monitoring the situation in the area wider than 1, 7 million km2 with more than 43,000 km of coast.

One of the main priority of Denmark is to replace 4 Thetis -class patrol boats, the navy of the country in the early 1990s and became less and more reliable. The Danish Navy Chief of the Danish Navy Henrik Ryberg said the battleships were often broken and unable to operate.

Denmark is using 4 CL-604 Challenger aircraft to patrol, monitor at sea and transport. They were upgraded in a decade ago, but the Danish Defense Department said that the aircraft had almost stopped operating and needed to be replaced.

Minister Poulsen said that the advanced long -range UAV needs to monitor large areas from a long distance and obtain detailed images. He has not exposed the selected UAV model and the time to deploy them.

Greenland, the largest island in the world, in the center of the race, is increasingly strategic among powers to expand control in the Arctic region, gaining military, geopolitical and economic benefits here. .

The tension between the US and Denmark is related to Greenland is increasing. Denmark Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen earlier the month excluded the possibility of reaching the Greenland transfer agreement to the US. He said the Greenland people would decide the future of this territory and affirm the island “not for sale”.

The US is maintaining a significant military presence in Greenland with the Pituffik base of the space. This facility allows the US to deploy forces and dominate the air in the region. In addition, the base also has a huge radar system for early warning and tracking ballistic missiles.