Despite Germans and Norwegians flying home, there are still soldiers in Greenland.

Friday saw two Danish F-35 fighter jets and a French MRTT tanker aircraft on a training mission in southeastern Greenland. According to the Defense, such exercises will continue.

- This operation will continue in 2026 with a series of air, sea, and land-based activities to improve the ability to operate in extreme arctic conditions. Flight operations with F-35 fighter jets and tanker aircraft will therefore continue in the near future, writes the Defense. ( https://www.forsvaret.dk/da/nyheder/2026/danske-f-35-og-fransk-mrtt-tanker-traner-i-sydostgronland/ )

© Ritzau Scanpix

-------------------------------------------------------------

What does the Defense say about the increased presence in Greenland?

-------------------------------------------------------------

The Defense's increased presence and exercise activities will continue and be further strengthened in cooperation with several NATO allies in 2026. There will be periodic exercise activities geographically distributed in and around the Arctic and the North Atlantic, which will consist of both national and international exercises.

The goal is, among other things, to strengthen the ability to operate in arctic conditions and thereby strengthen the entire alliance's security in the Arctic to the benefit of both European and transatlantic security.

As part of the increased presence in the Arctic and the North Atlantic, the Defense will deploy capacities and units in connection with exercise activities in the near future. This will result in increased military presence in and around Greenland of both aircraft, ships, and soldiers, including from NATO allies.

Exercise activities in 2026 may include the protection of critical infrastructure, assistance to authorities in Greenland including the police, the reception of allied troops, the deployment of combat aircraft in and around Greenland, and naval military problem-solving.

Source: Forsvaret.dk ( https://www.forsvaret.dk/da/nyheder/2026/forsvarets-ogede-tilstedevarelse-og-ovelsesaktivitet-i-gronland-2026/ )

In addition to training in arctic conditions, it is especially different air and naval exercises that the Danish side wishes to train together with other NATO countries. This says lecturer at the Defense Academy Peter Viggo Jakobsen.

- They are trying to see if they can conduct exercises in Greenland that they originally thought they would conduct elsewhere - simultaneously demonstrating to the Americans that they are more present, so that the Russians are not dangerous, he says.

------------------------------------------

Meeting with NATO boss today after tariff threats

------------------------------------------

In addition to Denmark, NATO countries such as Sweden, Norway, Finland, Germany, France, Britain, the Netherlands, and Belgium have sent soldiers and/or officers to Greenland.

US President Donald Trump has subsequently threatened all countries except Belgium with tariffs if there is no agreement on a complete purchase of Greenland. ( https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ceqz0llpnyqo )

In addition to Denmark, Greenland's foreign minister, Vivian Motzfeldt, will also attend the meeting.

The Danish and Greenlandic ministers have a clear mission, says Rasmus Bruun Petersen, lecturer in Political Science at Aarhus University to P1 Morgen:

- They want to have some kind of commitment from NATO's secretary-general to launch a real NATO mission in the Arctic region. It's about committing NATO to security there to address the American fear of Russian ships, which are said to be sailing around Greenland, he says.

You can hear the interview via DR Sound:

Radio & Podcast from DR – Listen to net radio & podcast here ( https://www.dr.dk/lyd )

Warning: This article was translated by a Large Language Model, in case of doubt, you can always visit the original source.