The remote Pituffik space base in the northwest of Greenland, which Vice President JD Vance will visit on Friday, is the northernmost installation of the United States Department of Defense.
Nuuk, Greenland – The remote Pituffik space base in the northwest of Greenland, which is vice president JD Vance Visit on FridayIt is the northernmost installation of the United States Department of Defense.
The base was built after a 1951 defense agreement between Denmark and the United States. It supports missile warning, defense of missiles and spatial surveillance for the United States and NATO.
The Pituffik base is located on the northwest coast of Greenland, about 1,200 kilometers (750 miles) north of the Arctic Circle and 1,524 kilometers (947 miles) south of the North Pole. It is about 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) north of the capital of Groenland, Nuuk.
It was known as the Thule Air Base until 2023, when it was renamed to recognize Greenlandic cultural heritage and reflect its role in the relatively new space force of the United States.
The base is locked by ice for nine months a year, but its airfield remains open throughout the year. It is in constant darkness from November to February and the light of May from May to August.
It is operated by the 821º group of the space base and is also the home of the port of the Deepwater sea to the north of the world. The closest city is qaanaaq, around 120 kilometers (75 miles) northwest.
