Denmark Buys 16 New Fighter Jets, Invests Billions in the Arctic

Two F-35 fighter jets at Fighter Wing Skrydstrup air base of the Royal Danish Air Force near Skrydstrup, Denmark.

Photographer: Bo Amstrup/AFP/Getty Images

Denmark is investing $8.5 billion in defense capabilities, including a stronger presence in Greenland and 16 new F-35 fighter jets.

The plan, announced Friday night, also covers two new Arctic patrol vessels, a maritime patrol aircraft, a North Atlantic undersea cable, new drones, and building a Joint Arctic Command headquarters in Nuuk. Denmark will establish a military unit in Greenland, the defense ministry said in a press release.