In the northern part of Greenland there is a north-facing eye of the Arctic. The radar at the Thule base, now called Pituffik Space Base, is part of the United States' global missile attack warning system. It protects primarily the United States itself, but also NATO countries, and thus Denmark.
Critics warn that the radar at the Thule base is vulnerable to attacks by a new type of missile, the so-called hypersonic missiles. Danwatch talked about this topic with Karsten Marrup, director of the Air and Space Operations Center at the Defense University, who believes that the criticism is “narrow in scope.” It indicates that the radar in Thule is not protected, but there is a specific reason for this.
— The United States does not have integrated air and missile defense in Thule because there has been no need to protect it until now. The Cold War is long over, and Arctic Council members agree that the Arctic should remain a low-tension area. If they started bringing in a lot of military equipment to protect the radar, there would be problems, he explained.
It's important to remember that Thule's radar was designed to monitor ballistic missiles from space, not threats like hypersonic missiles.
“Hypersonic” means that something is moving at least five times the speed of sound, or more than 6,000 km per hour. Hypersonic missiles can be fired into the atmosphere and then descend toward the target at low altitude. They can also fly at low altitude but at extreme speed all the way to the target, explains Karsten Marrup and gives an example of why hypersonic missiles are difficult to detect by the air defense radar at the Pituffik space base:
If you put a pencil on a beach ball, neither end of the pencil touches the ball. If you tilt the pencil so that one end is touching the ball, the distance between the other end of the pencil and the ball increases. The same thing happens with the radar field of view because the Earth is round. Radar can't see everything all the time – and it has difficulty detecting threats close to the ground.
-When a missile flies low, the radar system has difficulty because the missile flies below the radar horizon. At some point the missile hits the radar's field of view, but if it flies fast – hypersonic “You have very little time to react,” adds Karsten Marrup.
We're talking about minutes and seconds.
— If a regular cruise missile flies at 900 km per hour and a hypersonic missile flies at six times that speed, then you divide the reaction time you had before by six. That's when it becomes a problem if you only have 10 minutes, he says.
Deliberate abandonment of defense
Critics point out that Greenland lacks integrated defense, i.e. systems for detecting low-flying and extremely fast threats and means to repel them.
However, there is no point in criticizing the Americans for failing to protect Thule against hypersonic missiles when the United States has no integrated air defense in Greenland at all. This is not a mistake or negligence, but a conscious choice of security policy priorities – explains Karsten Marrup.
His colleague at the Defense University, Peter Viggo Jakobsen, lecturer at the Institute of Strategy and War Studies, agrees with him:
If the United States decides to deploy long-range precision missiles at the Pituffik space base to be able to shoot down hypersonic missiles fired to destroy the radar, it could increase tensions if Russia responds by deploying more missiles in the Arctic, aimed at Pituffik
— writes Peter Viggo Jakobsen in an e-mail, in which he also explains that Russia's reaction will depend on how dangerous it considers the actions of the United States.
“The United States has not taken any action to increase military protection of the radar at Pituffik. There are no permanent missiles or air defense aircraft at the base, so tension levels are low.” And it is in Russia's interest to keep it that way. Russia is not interested in increasing the US military presence in Greenland. This means that the Russians will not take any actions that could arouse US concerns and encourage it to rearm,” the expert adds.
Everyone is therefore interested in ensuring that the Thule radar remains unprotected to maintain peace.
“If the United States contents itself with radar modernization and, in cooperation with Denmark, increases overall surveillance in and around Greenland, the escalation effect will be much smaller,” writes Peter Viggo Jakobsen.
The article continues below the video
Two types of defense
An attack on Thule is only real in an “all or nothing” situation – so it should not be feared on a daily basis.World War III is still far away, and if the radar in Thule suddenly found itself in danger, it would mean that the rest of the world was heading towards nuclear war.
This is an extreme situation, explains DIIS senior scientist Ulrik Pram Gad:
If World War III broke out, Pituffik Space Base would likely be the first target of attack. This would pose a problem for those on the base and the residents of Qaanaaq, but the residents of Nuuk [stolicy Grenlandii] they probably wouldn't have any more or less problems than the rest of us in that situation. Yes, Pituffik is a target of bombing and will remain so, but only in a very extreme situation
I’m Ashley Davis as an editor, I’m committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity and accuracy in every piece we publish. My work is driven by curiosity, a passion for truth, and a belief that journalism plays a crucial role in shaping public discourse. I strive to tell stories that not only inform but also inspire action and conversation.
