U.S. President Donald Trump’s controversial remarks about Greenland have created tension with Denmark, a key NATO ally, and raised questions about the future of one of America’s largest defense programs—the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
Last week, Trump held a contentious 45-minute phone call with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, which five current and former European officials described to the Financial Times as heated and confrontational.
Danish officials are reportedly in “crisis mode” after Trump refused to rule out military action to claim the strategically vital Arctic island and threatened targeted tariffs against Denmark.
Trump ridiculed Denmark’s recent attempts to reinforce its presence on the island with additional patrols, including “two dog sled teams”.
“I do believe Greenland, we’ll get — because it really has to do with freedom of the world,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. “It has nothing to do with the United States, other than we’re the one that can provide the freedom. They [Denmark] can’t. They put two dog sleds there two weeks ago, they thought that was protection.”
Denmark, a trusted NATO partner and long-time ally of the United States, has been a participant in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program since 2002. The country has 27 F-35 aircraft on order, which are expected to gradually replace its aging F-16 fleet. Denmark has also played a key role in the production, development, and sustainment activities of the F-35 program.
However, the escalating tension between Washington and Copenhagen over Greenland could jeopardize this partnership. Some analysts warn that the U.S. might consider freezing or even canceling Denmark’s participation in the F-35 program, a precedent set when Turkey was removed from the program following its purchase of Russian-made S-400 missile systems.
Such a move could send shockwaves across the global F-35 supply chain, impacting both current partners and potential buyers. The program’s high costs are already heavily reliant on contributions from its international participants.
Potential buyers and existing partners of the F-35 program are reportedly reevaluating their options amid the uncertainty. Countries such as Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Japan, Italy, and South Korea have expressed interest in exploring alternative programs or developing their own next-generation fighter jets.
The situation is compounded by criticism of the F-35 from within the U.S. administration’s inner circle. Elon Musk, co-head of the Department of Government Efficiency and a vocal critic of the program, recently reiterated his concerns about the F-35’s design flaws.
“The F-35 design was broken at the requirements level, because it was required to be too many things to too many people,” Musk wrote on his social media platform, X. “This made it an expensive & complex jack of all trades, master of none. Success was never in the set of possible outcomes. And manned fighter jets are obsolete in the age of drones anyway. Will just get pilots killed.”
The growing skepticism from both allies and internal critics places additional pressure on the F-35 program at a time when stability is critical for its success. As geopolitical tensions escalate and allies weigh their strategic options, the future of the F-35 program could face stagnation, or worse, reduced global support.
For Denmark, a freeze or cancellation of its F-35 orders would pose challenges to its national defense modernization plans and its broader NATO commitments. For the U.S., it would raise questions about its reliability as a defense partner.
Trump’s remarks on Greenland and the resulting diplomatic fallout underscore the interconnectedness of defense programs and international alliances. At a time when cohesion within NATO is more vital than ever, the ripple effects of strained relations could extend far beyond Arctic geopolitics.