Over the course of yesterday, the U.S. Navy announced that one of its nuclear attack submarines visited the coast of Iceland for the first time, specifically the Los Angeles-class USS Newport News (SSN 750). The vessel docked at the port of the country’s capital city, Reykjavik, amid growing tensions in the Arctic region due to the frequent deployment of Russian submarines and the melting ice, which could potentially open new navigation routes that will require increased military presence to control.
Quoting some official statements on the matter, we can cite Admiral Stuart B. Munsch, who serves as commander of U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa (NAVEUR/NAVAF): “Today’s port visit is a pivotal moment that underscores our firm commitment to collective defense and Arctic security. Our submarine forces are advanced and vital for ensuring the safety of our nations and our Alliance, patrolling the depths and providing a deterrent in an increasingly complex and contested world.”
For her part, Erin Sawyer, who serves as the acting chargé d’affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Iceland, stated: “The United States and Iceland share the goal of maintaining low tensions in the Arctic, being fully aware of Russia’s efforts to strengthen its military presence in the region. Close coordination with Iceland, our strong NATO ally, to achieve this historic visit demonstrates our commitment to freedom of navigation and the security of our allies in the region.”
In line with this, it’s worth recalling that Iceland has been a strategic point for the U.S. since the Cold War for monitoring Soviet activities in the Arctic — even at a time when the threat of melting ice wasn’t as prominent as it is now. An illustrative example of such precedents is the case of the U.S. Air Force’s 57th Fighter Wing, which was based on the island country from 1954 to support interception missions against aircraft entering NATO airspace, considering that Iceland lacks its own fighter jets. Additionally, the island serves as a base for patrol aircraft such as the P-3 Orion and P-8 Poseidon during their respective rotations.
Along those lines, having both air and naval assets in Iceland is key to controlling what is known as the GIUK gap (for Greenland, Iceland, and the United Kingdom), through which submarines from Russia’s Northern Fleet based in Murmansk typically pass — mainly including the Yasen-M class. In particular, positioning forces on Icelandic territory strengthens control over the chokepoint formed by the 200 miles separating its shores from Greenland, and the 500 miles that separate them from Scotland.
Finally, it’s also necessary to consider that having this new deployment point strengthens the network of ports the U.S. uses to support its own operations in the Arctic, primarily for servicing stops. Until now, this network consisted of the Royal Navy’s Clyde Naval Base located in Scotland, to which the port of Grøtsund in Norway must now be added.
*Cover image: Petty Officer First Class Novalee Manzella
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