Trump has claimed he needs semi-autonomous Greenland for “psychological” reasons(Image: HO/AFP via Getty Images)
Denmark secretly prepared to demolish runways in Greenland to prevent American aircraft from landing, according to an explosive new investigation by Danish public broadcaster DR.
The alleged emergency plan — developed as tensions escalated over President Donald Trump’s campaign for the United States to acquire the island for what he described as national security purposes — included deploying troops, medical supplies and blood reserves, and placing explosives for possible runway destruction.
Referencing a Danish military operations order dated Jan. 13, sources informed DR that personnel from Denmark and several European partners were sent to the vast Arctic territory in January under the guise of a NATO exercise called Arctic Endurance.
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But insiders claimed the operation had a tactical component, with units prepared to destroy airstrips if necessary to block U.S. aircraft from landing without Danish or Greenlandic authorization. France, Germany and Sweden were allegedly among the nations that participated.
An unnamed Danish military official told DR: “When Trump says all the time that he wants to buy Greenland, we had to take all possible scenarios seriously,” reports the Mirror U.S.
Greenland, a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, occupies crucial air and sea corridors between North America and Europe(Image: AP)
Both Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens‐Frederik Nielsen and Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen have consistently rejected any U.S. purchase of the island.
Despite the preparations, Danish authorities were understood to be eager to prevent a direct confrontation with Washington, and the reported plan was a final-resort, worst-case scenario measure.
Greenland, a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, occupies crucial air and sea corridors between North America and Europe and straddles the emerging Arctic shipping routes — positioning it as a strategic asset in the new era of power competition and climate change.
The U.S. already maintains a military presence on the island due to pre-existing arrangements(Image: AP)
The island’s strategic position and natural resources have attracted increasing interest in recent years, intensifying discussions within NATO over deterrence, sovereignty, and who holds authority in the High North.
In January, Trump maintained his plan to annex Greenland is “imperative for national and world security” and declined to rule out an invasion. However, speaking at the World Economic Forum, he said: “I don’t want to use force. I won’t use force. All the United States is asking for is a place called Greenland.”
The U.S. already maintains a military presence on the island due to pre-existing arrangements.
This week, the head of U.S. Northern Command, General Gregory Guillot, said Washington is working “with Denmark through the Department of State to expand some of the authorities that are in the 1951 treaty to give increased access to different bases across Greenland,”
“Everything that we’re doing through NORTHCOM is through Greenland and through Denmark,” he added.