Amid threats by US President Donald Trump to annex Greenland, Denmark and several European allies are flying troops to the territory, citing the need to bolster regional security.

A Lockheed Martin C-130J transport from the Royal Danish Air Force (RDAF) was filmed landing in the Greenlandic capital Nuuk on 14 January, with fatigue-clad military personnel seen disembarking. The development was first reported by Reuters.

Copenhagen on 14 January said it will immediately start increasing its military presence on and near the island, including with aircraft, naval ships and ground personnel.

The move is being undertaken in cooperation with the government of Greenland, which is a self-governing territory of Denmark. Several of Denmark’s NATO allies, including Sweden, France and Germany, are also committing personnel to the new effort.

“The purpose is to train the ability to operate in the peculiar Arctic conditions and to strengthen the alliance’s footprint in the Arctic for the benefit of both European and transatlantic security,” the Danish defence ministry says.

It says the deployment, dubbed Operation Arctic Endurance, will include “guarding critical installations in society, assistance to authorities in Greenland including the police, receiving allied troops, deploying fighter jets in and around Greenland, and naval task solving” throughout 2026.

While military training is the officially stated reason for the deployment, the mobilisation announcement came the day diplomatic talks in Washington, DC between Danish and American officials appeared to break down.

“We didn’t manage to change the American position. It’s clear the president has this wish of conquering Greenland,” Danish foreign minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said after leaving the White House on 14 January.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly insisted that Washington needs to control Greenland, citing national security concerns as the reason. This despite a pre-existing agreement between the USA and Denmark that allows for US military bases in the territory.

Trump has suggested Russia or China will wrest control of the strategically situated island from Denmark if Washington does not do so first.

“Two dogsleds [sic] won’t do it! Only the USA can!” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform on 14 January. The comment referred to military dog sled teams that are among Denmark’s small permanent military contingent in Greenland, which also includes patrol aircraft.

In a separate post, Trump said Greenland is “vital” to the Golden Dome missile-defence system the Pentagon is developing to shield North America from attack.

Denmark temporarily deployed a number of military assets to Greenland after Trump returned to the White House in January 2025, including flying two Lockheed Martin F-16 fighters to the US-operated Pituffik Space Force Base in the island’s far north.

In the present, Rasmussen says a “fundamental disagreement” exists between the USA and Denmark – two NATO allies whose troops fought side-by-side in both Afghanistan and Iraq. In response, Denmark quickly called on its European allies for support.

Swedish prime minister Ulf Kristersson confirmed on 14 January that Stockholm will deploy military officers to Greenland at the request of Denmark.

French President Emmanuel Macron also pledged the support of his forces, similarly noting the move comes after a request from Copenhagen.

“The first French military elements are already on their way,” Macron says. “Others will follow.”

Germany has also pledged to send a small contingent of forces to Greenland, which Berlin says will arrive jointly with Danish personnel aboard a civilian aircraft.

Defence minister Boris Pistorius invoked the same justification used by Trump as being the reason for the multi-national deployment.

“Russia and China are increasingly using the Arctic militarily, thus calling into question the freedom of transport, communication and trade routes,” he said on 15 January. “NATO will not allow this to happen.”

Danish foreign minster Rasmussen questioned those claims from Washington, saying “it is not a true narrative that we ⁠have Chinese warships all around the place”.

Russian and Chinese military aircraft have conducted joint patrols in the high north, including a 2024 flight near the US territory of Alaska involving Tupolev Tu-95 and Xian H-6 bombers. Such incursions by Russian fighters and bombers are increasingly common.

In Greenland, Denmark says it plans to continue increasing both its troop presence and military activity throughout 2026.

“In the coming weeks, the armed forces, together with a number of Arctic and European allies, will explore how an increased presence and exercise activity in the Arctic can take place,” Danish defence minister Troels Lund Poulsen says.

Denmark is pursuing a number of military modernisation efforts with an eye toward Arctic security. 

In 2025, Copenhagen said it was considering upgrading Greenland’s Kangerlussuaq airport, allowing the site to host the RDAF’s new Lockheed F-35A stealth fighters.

Denmark is also pursuing a new fleet of Boeing P-8A maritime patrol jets.