By Sune Engel Rasmussen, Daniel Michaels and Natalie Andrews

President Trump's statement Wednesday that Greenland is a core national security interest puts a focus on the existing U.S. military presence on the island. At one point, the U.S. maintained 17 bases in Greenland, and kept about 10,000 troops there. Today, there are fewer than 200 forces at one installation, Pituffik Space Base.

Formerly known as Thule Air Base, Pituffik was built in 1951. The northernmost U.S. military installation, it is a collection of barracks, hangars, fuel tanks and satellite-dish domes. On a mountain plateau, a massive trapezoid-shaped radar monitors the sky for potential hostile missiles. Behind the base, the vast ice sheet stretches for more than 600,000 square miles. Under a longstanding treaty with Denmark, which controls the island, the U.S. has wide latitude to station troops and expand its number of bases on the island.

The 'Golden Dome'

The West's missile detection in the Arctic currently relies on early warning systems at Pituffik and other radar sites across Alaska and northern Canada. If Russia or China were to fire intercontinental ballistic missiles at the U.S., many would likely cross over Greenland. The U.S. and NATO are considering adding more missile-detection equipment on Greenland and nearby. Trump has specified that Greenland is important to his plans to implement a "Golden Dome" missile-defense plan.

What the Trump administration says about the base

In a visit to Pituffik last March, Vice President JD Vance encouraged Greenlanders to embrace U.S. efforts to exert more control over the island. "Our message to Denmark is very simple: you have not done a good job by the people of Greenland," Vance said, with U.S. troops behind him. "You have underinvested in the people of Greenland, and you have underinvested in the security architecture of this incredible, beautiful landmass filled with incredible people. That has to change."

Vance said the U.S. had seen "very strong evidence" that Beijing and Moscow were interested in Greenland because of its strategic location. He said there were no immediate plans to expand the U.S. military presence on the island, but said he expected the U.S. to invest in additional ice breakers and naval ships that would have a greater presence in Greenland.

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January 21, 2026 17:23 ET (22:23 GMT)

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