The Danish F-35s are deployed under Danish command and will subsequently conduct planned training with Swedish Gripen fighter jets.
Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said: “I am very pleased that NATO, following among other things a Danish request, has launched Arctic Sentry. The first Danish contribution to the activity shows that we are ready to deliver concrete and operational capabilities to NATO in the Arctic. Our F-35 contribution strengthens the overall presence in the region and underlines Denmark’s role as an active ally in the Arctic and the North Atlantic.”
He added that the purpose of Arctic Sentry is to demonstrate NATO’s active presence and surveillance in the northern part of the Alliance’s area of responsibility, with allies asked to identify capabilities, activities and exercises that can be included, as well as Arctic infrastructure that can support operations.
Vivian Motzfeldt, Greenland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Research, said: “Arctic Sentry builds on initiatives already decided by the Government and Naalakkersuisut with close involvement of the Danish Chief of Defence. Naalakkersuisut supports the strengthened NATO presence in the Arctic and welcomes the F-35 capability. It is a new and strong capability, which we have not seen much of in Greenland, but which will undoubtedly help to strengthen security and surveillance in our region.”
Chief of Defence Michael Wiggers Hyldgaard added: “When we train together with our NATO allies, we strengthen our overall combat power and become even better at protecting our shared area of responsibility. With Arctic Sentry, we strengthen NATO’s deterrence capability in the Arctic and the North Atlantic. The exercise in Iceland, where the Danish and Swedish air forces train together, is a strong example of this.”
Arctic Sentry brings together already planned regional activities under a single framework intended to create the conditions for a sustained strengthening of NATO’s presence in the Arctic.
Among the Danish activities now included are the Danish-led Home Guard exercise Arctic Shield, the Arctic Summer training activity involving the special operations force and the Sirius Dog Sled Patrol, and Brilliant Ice, a Danish-led logistical operation in Greenland concerning the air delivery of fuel to Station Nord, while Danish F-35s have also taken part in Operation Noble Defender in the Arctic in recent weeks under the annual US-Canadian NORAD framework.
Source: Danish Ministry of Defence.
