Denmark reportedly hatched a secret plan to thwart a US military invasion of Greenland, an Arctic island territory that sparked a massive diplomatic showdown between the Trump administration and the Danish government.
Since Trump took office as President in January 2025, he has been calling for the annexation of Denmark’s autonomous territory, Greenland, to boost the defense of the United States as well as of NATO against modern missile threats.
Trump’s interest in Greenland stemmed from its strategic location, which lies on the shortest missile route between Russia and the United States. In fact, he linked the desire to seize Greenland to his aspirational “Golden Dome” missile-defense shield.
“Greenland is critical not just to our national security, but to the world’s national security,” Trump said in January 2026. “The entire missile defence infrastructure is partially dependent on Greenland.”
At the time, Trump said the US needs to “own” Greenland to prevent Russia and China from doing so. “If we don’t do it, Russia or China will take over Greenland, and we’re not going to have Russia or China as a neighbour. Okay?”, Trump said. “I would like to make a deal the easy way. But if we don’t do it the easy way, we’re going to do it the hard way.”
As wrangling over Greenland intensified, high-ranking Trump administration officials, such as Secretary of State Marco Rubio, became directly involved in discussions with Danish officials, and US officials reportedly discussed sending lump-sum payments to Greenlanders to convince them to join the United States of America.
However, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen warned that any US military attack on Greenland would mean the “end of everything,” including NATO itself and the post-WWII security order. It also received support from NATO allies.
Subsequently, the US President delivered his most chilling warning, saying that his administration will take action on Greenland “whether they like it or not,” suggesting that an invasion of Greenland was on the cards.
At the time, reports suggested that Denmark was preparing for that eventuality. In addition to making frantic diplomatic efforts, Denmark deployed troops to Greenland in January this year, including a “substantial” contingent led by the Chief of the Royal Danish Army.
The troops were reportedly ordered to “shoot first, talk later” without awaiting orders from Commanders if anyone were to invade Greenland.
Denmark’s Plan To Thwart US Invasion
Denmark’s public broadcaster, DR, recently revealed that the country began preparing for a potential attack from the US in January this year.
Denmark sent “substantial force” on January 19 as part of “Operation Arctic Endurance,” which was subsequently joined by troops from countries such as France, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands, and Belgium.
Interestingly, though, the Danish troops were deployed to Greenland with explosives to demolish runways in the capital, Nuuk, and in Kangerlussuaq, a small hamlet north of the capital, to prevent US planes from landing during a potential invasion.
Additionally, Copenhagen also sent supplies from Danish blood banks to treat injured individuals in the event of a clash, assuming that fighting may be the only option in the future.
The report states that, even though “Operation Arctic Endurance” was presented as a regular military exercise conducted amid tensions with the US, it was in fact a very serious expedition. This became clear from the fact that blood and explosives are not packed on regular training exercises, The Telegraph said, citing a source.
Despite mobilising troops and preparing for war with the US, Denmark was oddly aware that it might not be able to deter a Washington invasion attempt due to the mismatch in their respective military capabilities.
“The cost to the US would have to be raised. The US would have to carry out a hostile act to get Greenland,” a Danish defence source told the broadcaster, while acknowledging that the Danish troops would likely be unable to be able to repel a US attack by themselves.
The defensive military plan was kept a closely guarded secret, likely for security reasons. A senior Danish military official told the BBC, “Only a limited number of people would have been aware of the operation for security reasons”.
The Danish government has not acknowledged these claims, but DR said its report was based on information collected from 12 sources at the top of the Danish government and the military, as well as from Denmark’s allies in France and Germany.
Notably, they informed the channel that Copenhagen simultaneously requested political support from Berlin, Paris, and the Nordic countries by showcasing strong European unity and organising more cooperative military exercises in Greenland.
A senior French official, who wished to remain anonymous, told DR that the extraordinary circumstance had strengthened European ties.
“With the Greenland crisis, Europe realised once and for all that we need to be able to take care of our own security,” the source said. Although Denmark wanted to avoid an escalation with a NATO member, the United States, it did not want to do nothing in the event of a US attack.
The concerns of an invasion worsened in Denmark and Greenland when US special forces conducted a military operation against Venezuela on January 3 and abducted its leader, Venezuela’s former President Nicolas Maduro, and his wife. A day after this operation, Trump made an uncanny statement saying, “We need Greenland from a national security situation”, and that he would “worry about Greenland in about two months.”
“Right now Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place,” he said without offering any proof. “It’s so strategic.”
This further made Denmark apprehensive of Washington’s intentions, particularly as the US military had conducted operations in two countries—Venezuela and Iran—by that time.
“We had to take all scenarios seriously when Trump kept saying he wanted to take over Greenland, and then what happened in Venezuela happened,” a senior Danish security source who spoke to DR stated.
DR claims that a plan to send soldiers to Greenland later in the year by Danish and European forces was already in place, but it was quickly advanced as Trump intensified hints about annexing Greenland. However, the White House responded to this deployment, saying that sending European troops to Greenland would not affect Trump’s thinking.
Nonetheless, experts believed that Denmark lacked the capability to sustain a prolonged conventional defence against the US, and that the response would likely emphasise rapid initial resistance, diplomatic escalation, and the leveraging of NATO alliances to deter or halt aggression. In fact, the most potent weapon in the Danish inventory was the US-bought F-35, which may have created an F-35 vs F-35 situation.
Needless to say, Denmark’s defence of Greenland against a hypothetical US invasion would have been a complex and asymmetric scenario.
However, Trump took an unexpected U-turn on January 21 while speaking at the Davos Economic Forum in Switzerland. “I don’t want to use force. I won’t use force. All the United States is asking for is a place called Greenland.”
Since then, Trump has stated that he is seeking “immediate negotiations” to reach a solution and further diffuse the conflict.
Following the unexpected announcement, the calls for annexation died down, and the US got involved in mobilising its military in the Middle East for a war with Iran.
However, Washington seems to be holding on to the idea of expanding its presence in Greenland and using the Arctic territory for its “Golden Dome” initiative.
For instance, the head of Northern Command stated on March 19 that the United States is seeking to expand its military presence in Greenland to three additional locations to establish permanent access to Arctic waterways and add locations for special operations, as reported by Stars and Stripes.
The expansion would take place in defence areas established by the 1951 agreement with Denmark, which oversees the semi-autonomous territory, as noted by Air Force General Gregory Guillot. “The need there is very real,” he said during testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee.
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