Massive US Submarines Breaking Through Ocean of Ice in the Arctic (Watch)

Check out the Video of the US Navy Submarine USS Hartford emerging from ice during the ICEX 2016.

The U.S. Navy’s ICEX, or Ice Exercise, is a biennial exercise conducted above the Arctic Circle in cooperation with other branches of the military and a number of other government agencies.

ICEX provides submarines the opportunity to train in an operationally demanding and challenging environment, as well as an opportunity for scientific studies on ice thickness and the environment.

USS Hartford (SSN 768) from Groton, Connecticut, and USS Hampton (SSN 767) from San Diego are conducting multiple arctic transits, a North Pole surfacing, scientific data collection and other training evolutions during their time in the region.

Supplies for the operation were flown in by a C-17 Globemaster

More than 12,000 pounds of cargo fall out of the back of a C-17 Globemaster III over the Arctic Ocean in support of the U.S. Navy Submarine Forces’ Ice Exercise 2016. ICEX 2016 is a five-week exercise designed to research, test and evaluate operational capabilities in the Arctic region.

Submarines have conducted under-ice operations in the Arctic region for more than 50 years. USS Nautilus (SSN 571) made the first transit in 1958. USS Skate (SSN 578) was the first U.S. submarine to surface through the arctic ice at the North Pole in March 1959.

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USS Sargo (SSN 583), which the temporary ice camp is named after, was the first submarine to make a winter Bering Strait transit in 1960.

Since those events, the U.S. Submarine Force has completed more than 26 Arctic exercises.

ICEX 2016 is the latest exercise demonstrating the important and unique role the Submarine Force plays in implementing the Department of Defense’s Arctic strategy.

 

Joris Nieuwint: Joris Nieuwint is a battlefield guide for the Operation Market Garden area. His primary focus is on the Allied operations from September 17th, 1944 onwards. Having lived in the Market Garden area for 25 years, he has been studying the events for nearly as long. He has a deep understanding of the history and a passion for sharing the stories of the men who are no longer with us.
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