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PoliticsIceland

What's behind Iceland's security headache?

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Leonie von Hammerstein | Janina Semenova
August 10, 2026

Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and its increased military presence in the Arctic, Iceland started rethinking its security set-up. How can it adapt to a new geopolitical environment — despite having no army?

Iceland is a founding member of NATO but doesn't have its own army, and no defense budget even.

During the Cold War, it was crucial in the alliance's efforts to detect Soviet submarines using P-3 Orion patrol aircraft because the island lies at a chokepoint known as the Greenland-Iceland-UK (GIUK) gap between the Arctic Ocean and the Atlantic.

That strategic location was and still is especially important to the US which is why among security experts, Iceland is often dubbed an "unsinkable US aircraft carrier" in the middle of the North Atlantic.

But US President Donald Trump threatening Greenland and the NATO alliance as a whole, as well as growing tensions in the Arctic have Iceland on edge.

Janina Semenova German journalist and editor with a special focus on Russia
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