NATO’s incredible new £150m ‘laser base’ in middle of nowhere to stop Russia and China

Astrolight performs its first test in 2021 (Image: Astrolight)

NATO allies are building a high-tech laser communications base in western Greenland to protect satellite data from interference, sabotage, and electronic warfare by Russia or China. The Optical Ground Station is under construction at Kangerlussuaq, on the site of a former US military base, chosen for its unusually clear and stable skies.

The project is led by Lithuanian firm Astrolight with support from the European Space Agency. No official data have been released relating to cost, but a figure of £150million is reasonable in the modern-day climate. Astrolight says the laser system will provide roughly 10 times the data transfer rate and up to 10,000 times the bandwidth of conventional radio-frequency satellite downlinks.

Mr Maciulis, Astrolight’s co-founder and CEO, told Newsweek that the Greenland site was selected because it offers a reliable backup. He said: “Seabed cables can be damaged, and also might be vulnerable to interference coming from other countries… China, Russia… have access to that area. So we need to have a backup solution which is more resilient to interference and has a higher capacity and more secure way of communicating with the satellites.” He explained that conventional cables and radio-based systems remain exposed, and a more resilient communication network is essential in the increasingly contested Arctic.

He also described the laser’s extreme precision: “We are talking about a 1,000th of a degree width in a laser. Imagine you have a laser, a pointed laser pointer, which is super sharp, and it’s invisible from the side. The enemy cannot even see where the laser is. It can only detect it once it’s in the line of sight… it’s almost impossible to stay in that beam physically. So yes, it’s very resilient. It’s almost unjammable.”

Astrolight's portable optical ground station (Image: Astrolight)

Mr Maciulis emphasised that the laser is not a weapon. It is low-power and designed solely for efficient, secure satellite communication. The Greenland base will form part of a network of at least three stations to provide redundancy if weather conditions interrupt the signal.

The Arctic is increasingly a zone of strategic competition. Russia considers it central to its national defence, while China, as a “near-Arctic state,” conducts scientific and dual-use activities.

The United States, Canada, Denmark, and Nordic nations have substantial Arctic territory and interests, including monitoring shipping lanes, natural resources, and satellite communications.

NATO sees secure communications in this region as essential for both military readiness and wider geopolitical influence.

Currently, much polar-orbit satellite data is downlinked to a large ground station in Svalbard and transmitted through an undersea fibre-optic cable, mysteriously damaged in 2022.

A subsequent study concluded it was “highly probable” that a Russian commercial trawler was responsible, though Moscow denies involvement. Similar incidents in the Arctic and Baltic regions are suspected to involve Russian or Chinese ships.

Against this backdrop, NATO’s Greenland base represents a strategic investment in high-capacity, resilient infrastructure. Mr Mačiulis said the laser links, unlike radio frequencies, require no licensing and are far less vulnerable to interference, making them ideal for secure satellite communication.

By combining extreme precision, high bandwidth, and a remote Arctic location, the £150 million installation is designed to keep NATO ahead of potential disruptions and maintain a secure digital lifeline in one of the world’s most contested regions.