Germany Weighs Deployment of Eurofighters, Naval Vessels to Greenland
The disclosure coincided with the departure of a German military assessment team bound for Greenland, tasked with evaluating operational feasibility for future joint drills with NATO partners in the geopolitically critical Arctic zone.
Defense Ministry spokesman Michael Stempfle explained that the reconnaissance unit would explore multiple military deployment scenarios in partnership with Denmark, which commands the mission.
"The question is whether the Arctic is secure and how we can contribute together with our NATO partners," Stempfle told reporters in Berlin. "We are considering exercises with P-8 Poseidon reconnaissance aircraft, the deployment of frigates or other naval units for maritime surveillance, and theoretically also the deployment of Eurofighters."
Denmark spearheads the reconnaissance operation, with contributions from Norway, Sweden, Finland, Britain, France, and the Netherlands. Germany has committed over a dozen military specialists, including logistics personnel from multiple service branches.
Stempfle indicated the team would analyze regional environmental factors and extreme weather conditions to establish viable training scenarios across land, maritime, and airspace domains. "When you consider what exercises could be done there — at sea, on land, in the air — you have to look at the local conditions, and that is exactly what should happen," he said.
Questioned about potential permanent force positioning, Stempfle cautioned against premature conclusions.
"It is too early to judge whether this is about stationing," he said. "As far as I know, it is now primarily about looking at the conditions on site, then also talking about exercises within the framework of NATO with our partners, and we can only say everything else once the talks have taken place on site and the further talks in the coming weeks."
Denmark's initiative to escalate military activity and execute drills in Greenland emerges amid escalating friction with the US administration.
President Trump has repeatedly declared that the US "needs Greenland" and has refused to exclude military intervention as a means to secure control. Emergency negotiations Wednesday at the White House involving senior US representatives alongside Danish and Greenlandic officials ended without resolution.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius stated late Thursday that Germany recognizes security challenges from Russia and China in Arctic territories, proposing that expanded NATO presence in Greenland could satisfy President Donald Trump's security demands while preserving Denmark's territorial integrity.
"We are simply taking away his (Trump's) main argument by saying we are securing this territory," Pistorius told a public broadcaster . "We not only share your security concerns, but we are also committed to addressing them together."
Separately, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul informed reporters Friday that Germany will actively foster US-European diplomatic engagement regarding Greenland. He emphasized Berlin's readiness to assume a commanding position on Arctic security matters.
"As Europeans, we must quickly close existing gaps and catch up in terms of capabilities. The goal is clear: as Europeans, we must be prepared to assume responsibility for our security together," he told a news conference in Berlin.
"Germany is ready to assume a leadership role. This applies to NATO's eastern flank within the framework of enhanced EU defense readiness, and this also applies to the Arctic, where we are facing a new security dimension," he stressed.
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