Aerial view of Camp Century, Greenland. U,S, Army.
During the height of the Cold War, the United States embarked on a top-secret mission known as Project Iceworm. This ambitious project aimed to establish a network of mobile nuclear missile launch sites beneath the Greenland ice sheet. The goal was to create a strategic advantage by positioning missiles that could survive a first strike and target the Soviet Union. However, the project faced numerous challenges and was ultimately abandoned.
Background
In the late 1950s, the geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union was at its peak. The launch of Sputnik by the Soviet Union in 1957 and subsequent intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) tests heightened the urgency for the U.S. to develop new strategies to counter the Soviet threat.
Greenland, with its vast ice sheets and strategic location between North America and Europe, presented an ideal location for a covert missile base. Greenland spans approximately 840,000 square miles, with over 80 percent of its terrain blanketed by the Arctic polar ice cap or glaciers. It is three times the size of the state of Texas. As an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, Greenland has its own parliament and also sends two representatives to the Danish parliament.
Camp Century: The Cover Project
To study the feasibility of constructing facilities under the ice, the U.S. Army initiated a highly publicized cover project known as Camp Century in 1959. Located 150 miles from the U.S. Air Force Thule Air Base (now Pituffik Space Base) in northwestern Greenland, Camp Century was described as a “nuclear-powered Arctic research center.” The camp featured a series of tunnels and prefabricated buildings, including a hospital, shop, theater, and church, all powered by a portable nuclear reactor.
Project Iceworm: The True Objective
While Camp Century was publicly touted as a research facility, its true purpose was far more clandestine. Project Iceworm aimed to construct a network of tunnels stretching 4,000 kilometers (2,500 miles) under the Greenland ice sheet. These tunnels would house up to 600 nuclear-armed Minuteman ICBMs capable of striking targets within the Soviet Union. The missiles’ locations were intended to be periodically changed to enhance their survivability and maintain the element of surprise.
During the late 1950s and early 1960s, the U.S. Army focused on developing ground-based missile systems as part of its role in the nation’s defense strategy. The Army’s expertise in engineering and constructing facilities in challenging environments, such as the Arctic, made it the logical choice for this ambitious project. Additionally, the Army sought to maintain its relevance and secure funding in the face of budget constraints and competition from other branches of the military, particularly the Air Force, which was receiving a significant portion of the defense budget for its strategic bomber and missile program.
Challenges and Abandonment
Despite the ambitious plans, Project Iceworm faced significant challenges. The unstable conditions of the Greenland ice sheet made the construction and maintenance of the tunnels extremely difficult. Additionally, the U.S. Army never obtained the necessary consent from the Danish government, which controlled Greenland. These insurmountable obstacles led to the eventual cancellation of the project in 1966. The facility was evacuated in 1965, and the nuclear generator was removed.
The details of Project Iceworm remained classified for decades, only coming to light in the mid-1990s during an inquiry by the Danish Foreign Policy Institute. The project was officially declassified in 1996, and the information became widely known following the inquiry in 1995. The American public learned about the project when documents were published by the Danish Parliament in 1997.
Rediscovery of Camp Century
In April 2024, NASA conducted a scientific flight over Greenland to test a new instrument, the Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar (UAVSAR). During the flight, the research team noticed something unusual on their screen.
“We were looking for the bed of the ice and out pops Camp Century. We didn’t know what it was at first,” said Chad Greene, a cryospheric scientist with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, in a press release.
Although previous flights had captured images of Camp Century, NASA’s latest technology provided scientists with a much clearer view of the site. “In the new data, individual structures in the secret city are visible in a way that they’ve never been seen before,” Greene explained.
NASA’s recent rediscovery has sparked renewed interest in both the historical significance and future implications of the site.
Final Thoughts
Project Iceworm exemplifies the extraordinary lengths nations will go to in pursuit of strategic advantage during periods of geopolitical tension. Although the ambitious project ultimately failed, it remains a captivating chapter in Cold War history, showcasing both the ingenuity and the formidable challenges of operating in one of the world’s most extreme environments.