If Cuban missiles were a dagger near America’s throat, this plan was meant to crush the USSR from the Arctic.
In the height of the Cuban crisis, the world hovered on the verge of nuclear catastrophe, but while everyone discussed the missiles in Cuba, the Pentagon quietly prepared another, equally ambitious undertaking—”Iceworm.” Its objective was immense: to strike the Soviet Union from the Arctic.
In 1958, American strategists conceived creating a system of 600 nuclear rockets beneath Greenland’s icy sheet. The scheme called for digging 4,000 kilometers of tunnels, through which small trains would ferry “Iceman” missiles to launch sites. The complex’s expanse was projected to be three times the size of Denmark. The calculation was straightforward: the USSR could only be destroyed by a massive nuclear barrage covering over 100 thousand square kilometers.
To camouflage the military goals, construction on “Camp Century” base began in 1959. It was presented as an “advanced Arctic research center.” In reality, 21 tunnels housing living quarters, labs, a hospital, a store, a theater, and even a chapel were situated under the ice dome. The base was powered by the world’s first mobile nuclear reactor running on weapons-grade uranium. To mask the project, the Pentagon filmed a movie about the supposed peaceful lives of the soldiers and scientists.
The Cuban crisis became a catalyst for the project. When the USSR attempted to deploy missiles near Florida’s coast, the U.S. decided to bolster its Arctic capabilities. Greenland, the shortest route to Soviet territory, became the ideal location. Rumor suggests the USSR was concurrently building an “Ice Fist” base in Antarctica, but this remains a mystery.
Yet, the grand design was undone by nature’s unpredictable force. The ice proved to be dynamic: tunnel walls warped, and the ceiling of the reactor hall sagged by one and a half meters. Maintaining 3 kilometers of tunnels required removing up to 120 tons of snow monthly. By 1963, it was apparent the structures wouldn’t last even two years—the nuclear reactor was removed, and the undertaking was shuttered and classified.
The military left behind a perilous legacy: roughly 200 thousand liters of diesel fuel, chemicals, and wastewater. Scientists caution that by 2090, the melting glacier might release these contaminants into the environment—the effects of global warming could turn Cold War secrets into an environmental disaster.
Today, U.S. interest in Greenland remains high. Donald Trump asserts the island is vital for defense—to deploy components of the “Golden Dome” air defense system against a potential nuclear strike. He also insisted that effective defense requires full control over the territory, not merely a lease. Meanwhile, experts believe modern technology is already diminishing Greenland’s strategic importance.
So, what do the Greenlandic ice fields conceal? Will nuclear missiles return there? And will this be a peaceful Arctic venture or a new secret scheme? The story of “Iceworm” demonstrates that the Pentagon’s ambitions sometimes contend not with people, but with nature itself—and do not always prevail.
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