Denmark to boost Arctic defence with new ships, jets and HQ

Denmark will buy US F-35 fighter jets and new ships to defend the Arctic, including Greenland.

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It will also spend $4.5bn buying 16 more F-35 fighter jets from the US, bringing its total fleet of such advanced planes to 43.

"With this... agreement we significantly strengthen the capabilities of the Danish Armed Forces in the region," Denmark's Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said in a statement on Friday.

The Arctic is at a critical crossroads between North America, Russia and the rest of Europe. The statement by the Danish defence ministry says the purpose of its military is security, and if necessary, defence in the Nato security alliance.

"The task of the Armed Forces is to ensure security throughout the Kingdom - and, if necessary, to defend Greenland, the Faroe Islands and Denmark within the framework of Nato in all domains," the Chief of Defence, Michael Hyldgaard, told Danish public broadcaster DR, without saying who the potential adversaries were.