US could start using new base in Greenland in 2028

Brief retelling from RIA II

The United States, Denmark and Greenland signed an agreement expanding the American military presence on the island and providing for the creation of new military facilities in Narsarsuaq and Mestersvig.

If sufficient funding levels are maintained, the United States could begin using the Narsarsuaq military base around 2028 and the Metersvig base around 2030.

The full development cycle of both facilities could take up to ten years and involves the creation of fuel storage and permanent infrastructure, modernization of ports and the organization of year-round supply.

WASHINGTON, October 8 – RIA Novosti. The United States, if sufficient funding is maintained, could begin using a new military base in Narsarsuaq, Greenland, around 2028, and a base in Mestersvig around 2030, says Troy Bouffard, director of the Center for Arctic Security at the University of Alaska.

The United States, Denmark and Greenland signed an agreement on September 22 expanding the American military presence on the island. The document complements the agreement on the defense of Greenland in force since 1951 and provides for the creation of new military facilities in Narsarsuaq in the south of the island and Mestersvig in the east.

“Narsarsuaq already has basic infrastructure, so the deployment of an initial US presence there is possible around 2028. Metersvig is a multi-year project, and significant opportunities in this area will most likely appear closer to 2030,” Bouffard told RIA Novosti.

According to him, the full development cycle of both objects could take up to ten years. This process involves the creation of fuel storage facilities and permanent infrastructure, the modernization of ports and the organization of year-round supply.

“These deadlines can be reduced with a sufficient level of priority and funding,” the expert noted.

Bouffard recalled that the United States built the basic infrastructure of the current Pituffik base, then called Thule, in about two construction seasons in the early 1950s, employing thousands of workers and organizing large-scale deliveries by sea.

“These were emergency measures. Under normal budgetary conditions, I would expect a phased development. Although it is quite possible that the current administration may resort to emergency funding,” the agency’s interlocutor added.