The GIFUK gap and what it means for small North Atlantic states

Tór Marni Weihe | 27 March 2026

The Greenland-Iceland-United Kingdom gap — the GIFUK gap — is one of the most strategically significant stretches of ocean in the world. For small states and territories along its edges, the shifting geopolitical currents of the past decade have made it impossible to remain indifferent to questions of security and defence.

For the Faroe Islands, this is not an abstract question. Faroese waters sit at the heart of the gap. Russian submarine activity has increased markedly since 2014, and the war in Ukraine has accelerated a broader militarisation of the North Atlantic that shows no sign of reversing.

What does this mean for a small, non-sovereign territory with no military of its own?