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Belgium to send troops to Greenland as part of NATO mission

07 August 2026 21:30 (UTC +04:00)

Belgium will send around 30 military personnel to Greenland in September for a two-week NATO training mission, Defence Minister Theo Francken (N-VA) announced during a visit to Iceland on Friday, APA reports.

The deployment will take place from 4 to 18 September as part of Arctic Sentry, a NATO mission in the Arctic region, Francken's office confirmed.

The Belgian contingent will include troops from Leopoldsburg as well as members of the Special Forces.

During the exercise, they will take part in drills under a new component of the Arctic Sentry mission known as Arctic Shield, according to the minister's spokesperson.

Arctic Sentry is a NATO military mission launched in February this year amid rising tensions between the United States and Greenland, after US President Donald Trump's renewed interest in the island. The US is also expected to participate in the mission.

Francken is also visiting Icelandic Air Policing on Friday, a NATO operation that patrols Iceland's airspace because the country does not have an air force.