Russian Navy Commander-in-Chief Yevmenov said in a report to Russian President Vladimir Putin on 26th that three Russian nuclear submarines surfaced in the Arctic at the same Time breaking the ice. This is the first time in the history of Russia. The U.S. media said that the U.S. military conducts annual Ice Sheet Exercise (ICEX), where submarines break the ice and come to the surface.
In 2010, three nuclear submarines with 462 Tomahawk cruise missiles surfaced simultaneously, sending a strong signal to the Chinese Communist Party.
According to Russian media reports, during a briefing to President Vladimir Putin, Yevmenov said the exercise was part of an Arctic expedition code-named “White Bear-2021 (Umka-2021)”. The ice is about 1.5 meters thick. The three nuclear submarines completed their ice-breaking surfacing in a 300-meter radius within the designated time, according to a prior plan.
Looks like 3x667BDRM/DeltaIV SSBNs surfaced near the North Pole… Cool. https://t.co/Cbi8DdYMFO
- Dmitry Stefanovich (@KomissarWhipla) March 26, 2021
There’s a chance that one of the SSBNs at the latest ICEX was Borei/Borei-A.
h/t @PararamTadam https://t.co/o5Jy0L0hWE pic.twitter.com/2peRO9vwF9
- Dmitry Stefanovich (@KomissarWhipla) March 26, 2021
This also highlights the growing geopolitical rivalry in this highly strategic region, The Drive said in a report.
The report reminds that it is worth noting that the U.S. Navy conducts an annual Ice Sheet Exercise (ICEX) in which submarines, albeit not ballistic missile submarines, break through the ice and come to the surface.
Beyond that, the report said, submarine operations around the world are usually conducted in secret, and other than returning to Home port, submarine surfacing is often sending a message. For example, the appearance of the submarine Omsk (Oscar II class missile submarine ) in the Bering Sea off Alaska in August 2020 set off alarm bells and prompted the U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM) to issue an unusual public statement that it was monitoring the situation. Notably, this followed an equally rare decision on the part of the U.S. Navy to make public the visit of the highly sophisticated and highly classified submarine USS Seawolf to Norway earlier that month. The Seawolf and her two sister ships, including the larger and uniquely configured spy submarine USS Jimmy Carter, are known for being particularly capable while quietly cruising beneath the Arctic ice.
Similarly, in 2010, three of the four Ohio-class nuclear cruise missile submarines surfaced, albeit in different locations in the Western Pacific and Indian Ocean, in what was seen as a message from the United States to the Chinese Communist Party. Earlier, the Chinese Communist Party test-fired missiles into the East China Sea.
The three nuclear submarines reportedly carried 462 Tomahawk cruise missiles, 60 percent of the number of Tomahawk missiles deployed in the U.S. Seventh Fleet’s area at the time. A senior source commented that more than 460 Tomahawks are an extremely powerful force in any context.
Countries such as Russia and the United States are working to expand their ability to project military power into the Arctic. Russia has been making a special effort to build new facilities in the region and expand existing ones, particularly air bases. The U.S. military just recently partnered with Canada to demonstrate its ability to conduct more conventional combat air operations outside the strategic Thule Air Base in Greenland.
Gen. Glen VanHerck, commander of U.S. Northern Command, told members of Congress just last week, “We are in a race …… And to compete with Russia and China (Republic of), particularly in the Arctic, you have to be on the field” , “And, so it’s critical that we do that, that we continue to make capabilities that enable us to be in the Arctic.”
The report said the Russian Navy sent three ballistic missile submarines to break through the ice together in succession near the Arctic, giving a very clear picture of the rivalry, with more such displays likely to come as geopolitical friction in the region continues to grow.
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