The United States is planning to build two new "very major" military bases in Greenland while also making significant upgrades to the sole existing base on the strategically important island in the North Atlantic.
Plans for the upgrades to Pituffik Space Base were quietly made public just days before President Donald Trump announced a new security deal between the United States, Denmark and Greenland over the self-governing country that's part of Denmark, a NATO member. That deal also includes building two new "defense area" sites in Greenland.
"We will immediately begin the process of developing a large military presence in the appropriate part of Greenland, of which there are many," Trump said in a Sept. 18 social media post announcing the deal.
"We look forward to working with the wonderful people of Denmark and Greenland toward a magnificent future with respect to this large, and highly strategic, parcel of land."
Built during the Cold War, Pituffik has powerful radar, a two-mile-long runway and about 150 American military personnel to coordinate satellite communications and monitor for ballistic missile launches. It was formerly known as Thule Air Force Base but renamed Pituffik (pronounced bee-doo-FEEK) during the Biden administration to honor the Greenlandic people.
Base officials have previously said their systems can detect a piece of metal the size of a softball from 3,000 miles away. Members of the Danish military are also stationed at the base, which serves NATO.
Under the new security agreement, the United States received permission to build new "defense areas" at two sites elsewhere in Greenland: Narsarsuaq, near the island's southern tip, and Mestersvig on the eastern coast, about 450 miles from Iceland. Both sites have previously hosted military facilities.
“We will immediately begin the process of developing a large military presence in the appropriate locations. We’ll be building two very major military bases," Trump said at the Sept. 22 signing ceremony. The deal appears to end Trump's threats to militarily force Greenland and Denmark to acquiesce to his demands for more control of the area.
Pituffik is on the island's western edge, close to Canada's Baffin Bay area, and about 1,000 miles from the island's capital of Nuuk. Cold War-era military planners built the base there, with Danish permission, because it's halfway between Moscow and Washington, and can provide early warning of ballistic missile launches from Russia.
The proposed new hangars, maintenance facility and weapons arming station would give Pituffik additional capabilities. Today, while fighter jets stop at the base, they are rarely stationed there, especially in the deep of winter, when outdoor temperatures can plunge to -50 during the monthslong polar night.
The new hangars would be heated, according to a federal purchasing solicitation issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which is seeking Danish or Greenlandic contractors to perform the work worth up to $500 million.
The planned hangars and associated work come less than a year after military officials launched plans to improve the base's runway and lighting systems, and upgrade the dining facility. The facility already has hangar space; this project would add capacity. Base officials did not respond to a request for comment on the proposed project, which is in the very early stages of development, according to purchasing data.
Earlier this month, multiple F-35A Lightning II fighters from the 115th Fighter Wing of the Wisconsin Air National Guard stopped over at Pituffik, and federal officials posted photos and videos of crew members performing maintenance on the tarmac in the rain.
During the Cold War, military planners used Pituffik as a staging point for a test of Project Iceworm, which would have secretly buried nuclear missile silos beneath the Greenland ice sheet. The effort was abandoned after scientists discovered that the ice sheets moved faster than expected.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: U.S. plans 2 new bases, major upgrades in Greenland
