Greenland, the world’s largest island, has long been a strategic prize in the icy chessboard of the Arctic. This September, its frozen shores became the focus of a major NATO military exercise, Arctic Light 2025, led by Denmark and involving more than 550 troops from across Europe. The maneuver unfolded against a backdrop of mounting geopolitical tension, with Russia’s Arctic ambitions growing and the United States—under President Donald Trump—renewing its controversial push for American jurisdiction over the mineral-rich territory.
The exercise, which kicked off on September 9 and wrapped up Friday, September 19, 2025, saw Denmark’s defense minister, Troels Lund Poulsen, join his Icelandic and Norwegian counterparts on Greenlandic soil. According to the Danish defense ministry, the United States—despite operating the Pituffik Space Base in northern Greenland and consistently voicing interest in the territory—was notably absent from the opening events. Still, American military observers were present, watching as Danish special forces practiced boarding ships, rappelling from helicopters, and performing live-fire drills in temperatures just above freezing.
“The current security situation requires us to significantly strengthen the armed forces’ presence in the Arctic and North Atlantic,” Poulsen stated, as quoted by Agence France-Presse. The Arctic Light 2025 exercise brought together not just Denmark but also France, Germany, Norway, and Sweden, with France sending a naval ship, tanker aircraft, and mountain infantry equipped with drones, according to the Danish military. The Danish frigate Niels Juel played host to allied guests, who witnessed F-16 fighter jets streaking across the sky and the Danish military’s full spectrum of capabilities on display.
While the exercise’s stated aim was to bolster the operational readiness of Denmark and Greenland’s armed forces, its deeper purpose was clear: to reinforce joint NATO response capabilities against destabilizing threats in the North Atlantic and Arctic regions. As Denmark’s Joint Arctic Command put it, the training was designed to “strengthen their joint response capabilities against destabilizing threats to Greenland, the Kingdom of Denmark, and NATO.”
Yet, beneath the surface, the drills also served as a signal to two global powers: Russia and the United States. Maj. Gen. Søren Andersen, chief of Denmark’s Joint Arctic Command, didn’t mince words about the regional security calculus. “I think it’s fair to say that Russia has built up in the Arctic for the last 20 years, and Russia is a regional superpower in the Arctic,” Andersen told reporters on Monday. He added, “When the war in Ukraine ends, I think most of us working in this business ... think that Russia will start building up again other places and use their resources not in Ukraine, but other places in the world.”
Andersen also emphasized longstanding military cooperation with the United States, despite current diplomatic strains. “We have worked together with the US for decades, both in exercises and also operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and so on,” he said. This week, he noted, Danish fighter jets would even land at the US-run Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland. “I think the pilots will have a cup of coffee with the base commander there,” Andersen quipped, highlighting the practical ties that persist even when political winds shift.
That said, the relationship between Copenhagen and Washington has grown complicated. Since returning to the White House, President Trump has repeatedly declared that the US needs Greenland for security reasons, sparking diplomatic friction with Denmark. Trump has not ruled out military force to take control of the resource-rich island and has openly criticized Denmark for, in his view, insufficient investment in Greenland’s defense. Denmark and Greenland have firmly rejected any notion of selling the territory and have condemned US intelligence gathering there.
Last month, these tensions came to a head. Denmark’s foreign minister summoned the top US diplomat in Copenhagen after national broadcaster DR reported that at least three Americans linked to President Trump had been conducting covert influence operations in Greenland. According to BBC and Arab News, these activities further strained relations, with Danish officials making clear that the island’s sovereignty was not up for negotiation.
Meanwhile, Denmark is putting its money where its mouth is. Defense Minister Poulsen announced plans to invest a “double-digit billion amount” in kroner—about 10 billion kroner, or $1.5 billion—to acquire US-made P-8 maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft, ideally in cooperation with NATO allies. “But if that is not possible, I am also willing to acquire the P-8 aircraft capacity ourselves,” Poulsen said, noting the planes would be crucial for monitoring submarine activity around Greenland and the Faroe Islands. “We need to have a better picture of what is happening around Greenland and the Faroe Islands,” he added, warning that the “threat level is increasing.”
This is just part of a broader Danish push to strengthen its Arctic defenses. In late January 2025, the government unveiled a 14.6 billion kroner ($2.3 billion) agreement with the governments of Greenland and the Faeroe Islands to boost surveillance and sovereignty capabilities. The package includes three new Arctic naval vessels, two additional long-range surveillance drones, and expanded satellite capacity. And just last week, Denmark announced it would spend another 58 billion kroner ($9.1 billion) on European-made air and missile defense systems, a move Poulsen said was prompted by lessons learned from Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Despite the saber-rattling and diplomatic drama, Denmark’s military leaders have gone out of their way to highlight the positive aspects of transatlantic cooperation. “We have a very good relationship with the US military,” Andersen reiterated, even as the political relationship remains fraught. The Danish military did not mention the tensions with Washington in its official announcements about Arctic Light 2025, choosing instead to focus on the unity and readiness of NATO allies in the region.
For Greenlanders themselves, the exercise is a reminder of their island’s unique position at the crossroads of global power. As a semiautonomous territory under Danish sovereignty, Greenland has its own government but relies on Copenhagen for defense and foreign policy. The island’s mineral wealth and strategic location—sitting astride key shipping lanes and within reach of both North America and Europe—make it a perennial object of outside interest, whether from Washington, Moscow, or Brussels.
As the Arctic warms and new shipping routes open, the geopolitical stakes are only set to rise. For now, Denmark’s message is clear: it intends to defend its northern flank with robust military investment, close cooperation with NATO allies, and a firm grip on Greenland’s future. Whether that’s enough to deter further Russian buildup or American ambitions remains to be seen, but for one week in September, the world’s attention was fixed on the icy expanse of Greenland—and the military maneuvers playing out on its shores.
