Project Iceworm: Nuclear missiles under the ice!

Hidden beneath Greenland's icy expanse lies a secret Cold War-era base: Camp Century. Established in 1959, this secret military facility serves as the center of Project Iceworm , a top secret program of the United States Army.

Nuclear secrets and hidden tunnels

The Iceworm Project can be considered an example to illustrate the definition of top secret. Although it was initiated in the late 1950s and operational around 1960, its existence was only officially confirmed in 1996 with the publication of declassified government documents. It was from these that the public finally learned the truth about the project and what it looked like, Camp Century.

Initiated by the United States Army, the main goal of Project Iceworm is to deploy a network of mobile nuclear missile launch sites under the ice sheet of Greenland, Denmark. The purpose behind this project was to strengthen America's nuclear capabilities to counter the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

This project established secret infrastructure capable of launching intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) from within the Arctic region. In essence, it is a secret nuclear base, hidden under ice.

Project Iceworm was classified as top secret, and even the Danish Government was unaware of the full extent of the activities at Camp Century.

The plan of this project is to build a tunnel system about 4,000 km long hidden under Greenland . These tunnels could deploy up to 600 nuclear missiles and would be periodically repositioned in case the Soviet Union learned of their existence. This project is top secret, and even the Danish government is almost unaware of this project.

Of course, deploying such a network is not only a major technical feat but also extremely expensive. However, the US feels it will have certain merits.

1. First , they hope that if successful, the project will help the military surprise and defeat potential opponents, while making it difficult for the enemy to detect and target US missile facilities.
2. Second, throughout the Cold War, both the United States and the Soviet Union made significant efforts to project power in the Arctic region for strategic, military, and economic reasons. It was hoped that if the Soviet Union got ahead in this particular race, Project Iceworm could provide a cushion against potential Soviet attacks.
3. Finally, this was the 50s/60s, and both the US and the Soviet Union were preoccupied with expanding their respective nuclear reach. The Iceworm project would give the United States an advantage in the polar regions and strengthen its overall strategic position. The more their nuclear range expands, the greater their deterrent ability.

Structure of Camp Century base.

Camp Century base

Construction of Camp Century began in 1959 and the camp operated until 1967. When the Americans brought this up to the Danish government, they weren't exactly honest about things.

They pitched Camp Century to the Danish government as a place to test construction techniques in Arctic conditions and to demonstrate the feasibility of cheap military outposts on ice. They also announced that the camp would carry out 'scientific experiments ' and test the effectiveness of the mobile nuclear reactor (PM-2A).

Thermal drill installed at Camp Century, used to drill through the Greenland ice cap.

To be fair, America did not lie. A total of 21 tunnels with a total length of 3,000 meters were carved out of the ice and covered with roofs. At the same time, no nuclear missiles are installed in these places.

These tunnels are filled with prefabricated buildings with a full range of functions from hospitals and shops to theaters and churches. It can be considered a small town under the ice with about 200 researchers and military personnel living there at any one time.

The site was actually also used to test the world's first mobile nuclear reactor, which powered the site from 1960 to 1963. For the most part, the researchers were stationed there examined nearby melting glaciers and drilled ice cores to look for bacteria and viruses like the plague. This study remained in use by climatologists as late as 2005.

But in reality, all this research is superficially within the main goal of the US government.

Camp Century realized that the place could most likely only last about two more years.

The ice cores actually dug have less to do with climate research and more to do with ensuring the tunnels will be stable over the long term as the ice sheet shifts.

Initially, it seemed like Camp Century had proven that Project Iceworm was viable, but things quickly began to change. After about three years, actual observations and studies have shown that the ice sheets are not as stable as initially thought. In fact, snow and ice are viscoelastic, meaning they move and deform over time.

The United States underestimated how quickly this process would occur, and geologists studying at Camp Century found that it was likely that the site could only survive about two more years until the tunnels of it started to collapse. And this actually happened in 1962, the camp's reactor room ceiling began to buckle and had to be raised 5 feet (1.5 m) to avoid damaging the reactor.

A year later, the project was permanently closed, the Iceworm project was no longer viable. (Illustration).

This raised safety concerns and in July 1963, the military decided to permanently close the reactor. In 1965, the reactor was dismantled and the camp was evacuated.

A year later, the project was permanently closed. The US government has decided that at the rate the iceberg is moving, Project Iceworm is no longer viable.

The ghost of Project Iceworm

When the camp was decommissioned in 1967, most of the site, including the waste, was simply abandoned under the Greenland ice sheet. It is believed that it will stay there, safe under tons of ice and falling snow for the rest of time.

However, a lot has changed since the 1960s: Namely, we understand much more about climate change now than we did then. A 2016 study found that over the next few decades, the Greenland ice sheet will begin to melt.

There are fears this will begin releasing the waste left behind at Camp Century - that is, nuclear waste, 200,000 liters of diesel, PCBs and huge amounts of wastewater will be released into the local environment. Although estimates vary, it is thought that by 2090 at the earliest or 2179 at the latest, all this waste will be released, further damaging the surrounding habitat.

Global warming means that all the nasty stuff Project Iceworm left behind could soon thaw and cause untold damage to the environment.

In retrospect, Project Iceworm can be seen as an ambitious experiment but its ultimate demise highlighted the formidable challenges posed by the Arctic environment and the complexity of maintaining the facility secret military infrastructure. Even the United States, with all its technology and resources, cannot withstand the forces of Mother Nature.