Ah, I understand why he's so keen to get hold of Greenland, from part of the Golden Dome Wikipedia entry and the communications to the systems satellites ..."Pituffik is uniquely suited for these optical (laser) downlinks because it sits in a polar desert, offering exceptionally low precipitable water vapor. This creates an atmospheric window for reliable V-band and laser transmission, which are otherwise attenuated by moisture in temperate zones—thereby enabling the massive data backhaul required to "close the kill chain" for Golden Dome's hypersonic interceptors.[90] A 2025 USNORTHCOM modernization study consequently prioritized a new Network Operations Center at Pituffik to handle this throughput.[91][92] Complicating U.S. dominance, the European Space Agency (ESA) began construction of its own optical ground station in Greenland in late 2025, creating a rival infrastructure capable of terabyte-speed data transfer that bypasses U.S. networks.[90] Finally, the site is logistically essential for the Golden Dome’s low-orbit interceptors that suffer high atmospheric drag and require continuous replenishment.[93] Some strategic analyses speculate that Arctic basing could, in theory, support higher-latitude launch and tracking operations, though no such launch infrastructure currently exists in Greenland." [Ref: Wikipedia]But perhaps just a sovereign base area could be negotiated? Seems to work ok at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, where the US has a perpetual lease from Cuba - and Greenland is a lot friendlier towards the US. (Well, it was.)Must find out what ESA are doing in Greenland ...
Michael Ixer ● 1d