Denmark ramps up security —and calls in the sled dogs — in Greenland after Trump threatens takeover

Denmark’s not rolling over. 

The Nordic nation announced Tuesday that it will bolster Greenland’s defenses with a $1.5 billion in new resources, including two elite sled dog teams, days after President-elect Donald Trump signaled renewed interest in purchasing the Arctic island. 

“It is ironic that it coincides with the announcement from the United States,” Danish Minister of Defense Troels Lund Poulsen told Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten about the new defense package, dismissing that it had anything to do with Trump’s Sunday Truth Social post. 

“For many years we have not invested enough in the Arctic, now we are planning a stronger presence,” he added. 

Denmark’s Minister of Defence Troels Lund Poulsen said the country plans to invest $1.5 billion to upgrade Greenland’s defenses. Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images

Poulsen noted that the massive defense package would fund the purchase of two new patrol boats, two new long-range drones and allow two additional sled dog teams to be deployed to the barren, icy island. 

The Danes have used mushing teams to patrol Greenland since World War II. 

Denmark’s Sirius Dog Sled Patrol – which takes its name from the “Dog Star” or the brightest star in the night sky – is an elite special forces unit attached to the Royal Danish Navy. 

Members of the sled dog team patrol Greenland’s wilderness for months at a time and are armed with bolt-action rifles and pistols – though they’re more likely to encounter polar bears and musk oxen than people on patrol. 

In addition to more sled dog patrols, Denmark also plans to increase staffing at its Greenland command post and upgrade the island’s airports to handle F-35 fighter jets, according to the BBC. 

The Danish Royal Navy uses elite sled dog teams to patrol the Arctic island. Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images
Greenland has a population of less than 57,000 people. AFP via Getty Images

Poulsen noted that Denmark – a member of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) – is willing to “work with the US” to secure Greenland.

Trump, 78, expressed on Sunday his desire to see a US-owned Greenland by the end of his second term as he announced PayPal co-founder Ken Howery as his pick to serve as US ambassador to Denmark.

“For purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity,” Trump said in a statement. 

Sources close to the president-elect told The Post that Trump is “100% serious’’ about wanting to acquire Greenland, as well as the Panama Canal.

Trump, who is drawn to the island’s natural resources and geopolitical relevance, previously indicated that he wanted to purchase Greenland back in 2019.

“Greenland is not for sale,”  Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said at the time, in response to Trump’s interest in making a deal. 

Greenland, which has a population of about 56,000, has its own government but is part of Denmark.