For the next ten years, Air Greenland will be responsible for transport and surveillance for the Defense Forces in Greenland. The agreement has a value of DKK 1.6 billion. Naalakkersuisoq and the director of the company that will handle the task are optimistic.
Naalakkersuisoq for foreign affairs, business and raw materials, Múte B. Egede (IA), signed in Copenhagen a few minutes ago an agreement with the Danish Minister of Defence, Jeppe Bruus, on air transport and surveillance for the Defense Forces in Greenland.
The agreement ensures that from 2028, the self-governed limited company Air Greenland will be responsible for air surveillance of Greenland and carry out transport tasks for the Norwegian Armed Forces for ten years. It has previously been stated that the agreement will have a value of DKK 1.6 billion.
The agreement is welcomed by Naalakkersuisoq.
– As part of the strengthening of the Armed Forces’ task-solving in and around Greenland, it is crucial that local actors are involved. Partly because Greenlandic society must contribute to a greater extent to the security and defense of Greenland.
– Partly because the Defence’s task solution must benefit Greenlandic society. A strengthened local cooperation will contribute positively to the Armed Forces’ local anchoring and benefit all parties, says Múte B. Egede in a press release.
Looking forward to getting started
As a result of a political agreement, the Ministry of Defence’s Material and Procurement Agency and Air Greenland have entered into an agreement that Air Greenland will take over the tasks of the Defence.
Air Greenland has experience with large tasks in the country. The company is responsible for the rescue and search tasks, also called SAR, in Greenland. And now they are also happy that they will be in charge of aerial surveillance, says the company’s director Jacob Nitter Sørensen to Sermitsiaq.
– It is a very good example of strong cooperation – both at the political level and between Air Greenland and the Armed Forces. It is very positive that we, as a Greenlandic company, can help contribute to the solution of tasks in the Arctic, and that we can help monitor our own country. We are looking forward to getting started, says Jacob Nitter Sørensen.
He is also pleased that both the number of employees and tasks at Air Greenland will increase. How many there will be, however, he cannot say more precisely for now.
Dash 8 is to be used for surveillance
The company does not plan to buy new aircraft for the surveillance of the vast Greenland. Instead, they will convert their two own planes, which are currently used for passenger transport internally in Greenland, into surveillance planes. And they will be staffed with Greenlandic residents, says the director.
– The task must be solved with converted Dash 8 aircraft, Greenlandic pilots and Greenlandic system operators on board. It is a 10-year agreement where we have to be on 24/7 365 readiness, this means that we have to be able to fly around the clock, all year round, and solve surveillance tasks.
– When Ilulissat Airport opens in October, there will no longer be a need for as many Dash 8 aircraft in our domestic fleet. Therefore, we can take two of our Dash 8 aircraft and rebuild them for the new task. The alternative would have been to sell the planes, says Jacob Nitter Sørensen.
He also says that when they get a responsibility, the plan is for the surveillance planes to be based in Kangerlussuaq from the beginning of 2028.
– We are looking at Kangerlussuaq as a starting point. But it also depends on the task, says the director.
The background to the agreement
So far, the Swedish Armed Forces have carried out this task themselves with their Challenger aircraft up to and including 2027. But because their aircraft have become very old, it was decided in the political agreement on the Arctic that they must be taken out of service. Here it was also decided that cooperation agreements must be entered into with operators in Greenland.
It has previously been described that the Challenger surveillance aircraft have not been fully available for several periods, which was due to technical improvements and maintenance. In 2024, the Norwegian Armed Forces flew over Greenland for a total of 278 days. Thus, Greenland was without aerial surveillance every four days, Berlingske wrote in August 2025.
Air Greenland’s director promises that they will be ready to fly every day.
– We must be ready to fly every day, says Jacob Nitter Sørensen.
