The Department of Defense wants to spend as much as $25 million in major infrastructure improvements to Pituffik Space Base’s runways in Greenland. The overhaul of its airfield is part of other work planned for the installation.
Pituffik, the U.S. military’s single base in Greenland and a major early warning missile tracking site, could see tens of millions of dollars in upgrades to its airfield and other facilities. In a solicitation for bids posted to SAM.gov, the Department of Defense said that it is looking for up to $25 million for new lighting systems to guide landings, a river crossing bridge, and other guidance-related signage and power generators. Though substantial for a small base like Pituffik, the upgrades are fairly routine. USA Today first reported on the solicitations for bids.
The airfield overhaul is the largest of several improvements the Pentagon wants to make. The runway at Pituffik is critically important, both for the base’s mission and for its daily operations. Given its remote location and the harsh weather, supplies often have to be flown in. The base has a deepwater port, but limited sealifts. And, being that far north, troops at Pituffik often experience months of darkness, necessitating clear lighting for its airfield.
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“Airlifting any materials or equipment via military aircraft is very expensive and only normally allowed on an emergency-need basis,” the solicitation notes.
USA Today also notes plans for upgrading and repairing several facilities on the base, including a dining facility. In late November, the Pentagon also posted a request for information for a potential “special service vessel” meant to patrol a 33-mile stretch of the coastline around the base and other maritime operations (the solicitation notes it is intended only for firms inside the Kingdom of Denmark). The potential new ship would replace an aging vessel already in use and help operations in the port, ranging from supporting supply ships to dealing with environmental spills.
Roughly 150 U.S. military personnel operate out of Pituffik, joined by some allied troops. Initially set up during World War II, it found its main importance during the Cold War as Thule Air Base. It served as a hub for Strategic Air Command and as a remote tracking station. It was also the base from which Camp Century — an underground complex nominally there as a research center but built as a nuclear launch site — was built. It was renamed Pituffik in 2023 and transferred to the U.S. Space Force.
Since returning to office, President Donald Trump has repeatedly pushed to acquire Greenland, claiming it is necessary for national security, even as the military has operated Pituffik for decades. The administration has floated the ideas of purchasing it from Denmark (the island is a semi-autonomous part of the kingdom) or paying Greenlanders to win them over into joining the United States. Last year, the commander of the 821st Space Base Group was fired after writing an email that appeared to push back on the idea of the U.S. taking control of Greenland.
The White House has repeatedly refused to rule out the possibility of using military force to acquire the island, which would put it at odds with fellow NATO states, many of whom have sent troops to Greenland this week in a show of solidarity with the alliance. None of the proposed work projects in the listings are clearly offensive, but would boost the base’s ability to bring in and operate aircraft.
