Discovery of cold war U.S. facility in Greenland may have prompted Trump's bid to claim island
President Donald Trump 's interest in Greenland is probably due to a NASA discovery of an abandoned cold war facility.
Chad Greene, chief scientist for the space agency, was flying a plane over an enormous glacier in April 2024 when his radar unexpectedly detected Camp Century, a Cold War-era military base that was abandoned in 1967.
Known as 'the city under the ice,' Camp Century was built in 1959. It consists of 21 tunnels drilled just below the surface of the Greenland ice sheet, spanning a total length of 9,800 feet.
Since NASA found the base, annexing Greenland has been one of Trump's major policy goals, dating back to the 2024 presidential race, citing the need to bolster America's military presence there.
The 66-year-old base was used as a front for Project Iceworm, which aimed to install a vast network of nuclear missile launch sites that could target the Soviet Union.
However, the instability of the ice sheet made launching nuclear weapons from this base too dangerous, leading the U.S. to eventually scrap the whole idea.
Now, as tensions around the world rise, President Trump has reignited America's decades-old claim to Greenland, saying that the U.S. needs full control of the Danish territory for national security reasons.
After the discovery of this frozen outpost, Trump upped the ante on his plans to purchase Greenland from Denmark, warning that he won't rule out using military force to take the island - and Camp Century.
'I don't rule it out,' Trump said in an interview that aired during the May 4 episode of Meet The Press. 'I don't say I'm going to do it, but I don't rule out anything.'
'We need Greenland very badly,' the president added. 'Greenland is a very small amount of people, which we'll take care of, and we'll cherish them, and all of that. But we need that for international security.'
The rediscovery of Camp Century is also giving the world a reminder of how serious the U.S. government was about keeping Greenland in its possession for more than two decades.
While there are only about 150 U.S. troops stationed at Pituffik Space Base today, there used to be 10,000 soldiers across 17 bases living in Greenland during the Cold War.
The U.S. took over Greenland's defense during World War II and then tried to buy it for $100million in 1946.
Although Denmark turned down the offer, the U.S. refused to withdraw their troops after the war.
The stalemate led to a 1951 treaty with Denmark that allowed the U.S. military to stay and build bases in Greenland. That deal is still in effect today.
At Camp Century, the military built the underground base to house 600 medium-range ballistic missiles as tensions with the Soviet Union reached a boiling point.
The facility's infrastructure now lies at least 100 feet below the surface of the ice sheet.
Previous radar imaging of the area found nothing more than a 'blip,' but the new map revealed 3D structures that aligned with the design and structure of the forgotten nuclear site.
Greene's discovery used radar to map the surface of an ice sheet, its internal layers, and the bedrock below, similar to the way that doctors use ultrasound to see inside the human body.
The scientist's flight, which took place in April 2024, used NASA's Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar (UAVSAR) mounted onto the bottom of the aircraft.
This system doesn't just look downward, it also captures a side-view to image solid structures with more dimensionality.
'In the new data, individual structures in the secret city are visible in a way that they've never been seen before,' Greene said in a statement.
NASA used this data to map the structure of the lost base, and they appeared to match historical records of Camp Century's planned layout.
Camp Century was one of the first facilities to be powered by a portable nuclear reactor, which supplied electricity and heat.
When the camp was abandoned, the reactor was removed and its hazardous waste buried. The remaining infrastructure was left to be enveloped in layers of ice and snow.
Greenland's strategic importance to the U.S. stems from its geographic position and resources, making it a key asset for national security, economic interests, and geopolitical influence.
The Danish territory's vast reserves of rare earth minerals, oil, and gas further boost its economic value. President Trump has focused on acquiring natural resources in his global dealings - including a reported rare earth minerals deal in Ukraine.
Additionally, the island hosts Pituffik Space Base, which supports missile defense, space surveillance, and Arctic operations.
According to the Trump Administration, controlling Greenland would secure these assets, counter growing Russian and Chinese influence in the Arctic, and bolster U.S. and NATO dominance in the region.
The information about Camp Century and its nuclear capabilities, specifically related to Project Iceworm, remained a secret until 1997.
President Trump has not made mention of trying to use Greenland as a nuclear launching site again if the U.S. gains control of the island.
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