Danish military to base large surveillance drones in Aalborg amid operational concerns for Arctic regions

The Danish military’s decision to base its new large surveillance drones in Aalborg raises questions about the drones’ operational efficiency in the Arctic and North Atlantic regions. The drones will require several hours of flight time to reach their operational area, with estimates suggesting an 8.5-hour journey to the nearest airport in Greenland, and more realistically, up to 12 hours.

Mads Petersen, a drone specialist from Arctic Unmanned in Greenland, emphasizes the necessity of a maintenance base for the drones in Greenland as well. Although the specific drone model has yet to be finalized from a budget of 2.7 billion kroner, the MQ-9B Seaguardian is emerging as a strong contender, capable of covering 1,800 nautical miles in just over 8.5 hours according to manufacturer specifications. However, this estimate does not account for additional variables such as payload and weather conditions.

Concerns have been raised about the drones’ reaction times, especially given Aalborg’s distance from their operational zones. Vivian Motzfeldt, Greenland’s Minister of Independence and Foreign Affairs, acknowledges that while a Danish base for the drones was planned, discussions about Greenland’s involvement are still ongoing.

Motzfeldt notes that Greenland lacks the necessary technical expertise to maintain the drones and importing personnel from Denmark might not be the ideal solution. She stresses that the focus is on ensuring that the Greenlandic population benefits from the defense build-up, including new training programs and small drones capable of operating from Greenland.

As plans develop, the goal remains for the long-range drones to also be maintained and operated from Greenland, but she cautions that implementation timelines are still uncertain.