Germany may send Eurofighters, maritime patrol aircraft to Greenland for drills

By Ayhan Simsek

BERLIN (AA) — Germany is considering sending Eurofighter jets, reconnaissance aircraft, and naval vessels to Greenland for NATO exercises aimed at strengthening Arctic security, a Defense Ministry spokesman said Friday.

The announcement came as a German military reconnaissance team departed for Greenland to assess conditions for potential future drills with NATO allies in the strategically important region.

Defense Ministry spokesman Michael Stempfle said the team would evaluate various military options in coordination with Denmark, which leads 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."

The reconnaissance mission is led by Denmark and includes participation from Norway, Sweden, Finland, Britain, France, and the Netherlands. Germany has dispatched more than a dozen military personnel, including logistics experts from various branches.

Stempfle said the team would examine local conditions and challenging weather patterns to determine what types of exercises could be conducted on land, at sea, and in the air. "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.

Asked whether the mission could lead to permanent stationing of forces, Stempfle said it was too early to make such assessments.

"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."

The Danish-led plans to boost military presence and conduct drills in Greenland come amid heightened tensions with the US administration.

President Trump has long insisted that the US "needs Greenland" and has not ruled out using military force to achieve that objective. Crisis talks on Wednesday at the White House between senior US officials and Danish and Greenlandic leaders failed to resolve the dispute.