US military engineers survey Narsarsuaq for future operations

US military engineers are surveying the runway and other potential military facilities at Narsarsuaq in southern Greenland, DR reports. Authorities have not said whether the work is linked to plans for a new American base.

Four US soldiers have been seen driving around the runway in vehicles equipped with what appear to be advanced surveying instruments. US Northern Command confirmed to DR that a specialist team is carrying out technical surveys of the runway and other facilities to assess “future operational possibilities at Narsarsuaq”.

“The team is collecting standard information about the airport, such as its dimensions, existing facilities and runway characteristics, for possible use by the United States, Denmark or other NATO allies,” a spokesperson for US Northern Command wrote to DR.

The command said the survey was being conducted in close cooperation with the Greenlandic government and the Kingdom of Denmark.

Narsarsuaq has previously attracted the attention of the US military as a possible location for one or more new bases in Greenland. Earlier this year, DR reported that a US Marine Corps representative had inspected the settlement and its facilities.

The specialists currently in Narsarsuaq are military engineers from the US Navy’s Naval Construction Force, also known as the Seabees. The force builds, repairs and prepares airfields, ports, roads, camps and other infrastructure for US operations in areas with limited or damaged infrastructure.

The engineers were sent by Special Operations Command North, a US military authority under Northern Command. Its tasks include creating “favourable strategic positions” for the United States.

A larger Danish military exercise, Arctic Shield, is taking place around Narsarsuaq this week. The American soldiers were transported to the settlement by a Danish EH-101 military helicopter, but are not participating in the exercise.

“They are in no way part of the exercise, and I would ask you to contact the Defence Command about what they are doing here,” said Major Christian Mogensen, who leads Arctic Shield in Narsarsuaq.

The Danish Defence Command told DR that the US specialists were conducting so-called site surveys, or technical inspections. It said the work was part of efforts to “strengthen security in and around Greenland in close cooperation with allies”. The command did not answer whether the inspections were connected to plans to open a new US base in Greenland.

Narsarsuaq is a familiar location for the US military. Known as Bluie West One, it was one of the largest and most important US bases in Greenland from the Second World War until 1958. The facility has since primarily operated as a civilian airport.

Greenland’s government said its Department of Foreign Affairs was also involved in this week’s activities. The department did not say whether the preliminary technical surveys were connected to a possible US takeover of Narsarsuaq Airport.

It said Naalakkersuisut and Denmark’s Ministry of Defence had recently decided to agree on keeping Narsarsuaq Airport temporarily open for one year. This would allow Greenland’s government and the Danish government to assess the long-term needs of the Danish Defence, allies and NATO for using the airport.

Denmark’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs declined to elaborate on whether the inspections were connected to a working group established between Greenland, the United States and Denmark.