SSNs still keeping the Pole nailed down
When not sniping wayward Iranian corvettes and launching TLAMs for CENTCOM, the 125-year-old U.S. Navy Submarine Service is busy this week atop the world.
The Arctic Submarine Laboratory’s Operation Ice Camp 2026 kicked off last week in the Arctic Circle as the legacy Virginia-class fast-attack submarines USS Santa Fe (SSN 763) and USS Delaware (SSN 791) performed a vertical surfacing to a very 1981’s The Thing kinda camp.
The camp, named “Boarfish,” gets its namesake from the WWII Balao-class fleet boat USS Boarfish (SS 327), which served as the flagship for Operation Blue Nose, the first-ever exploration under the polar ice cap. Of note, this year marks the 100th U.S. sub surfacing through Arctic ice at the North Pole, a tradition kicked off by USS Skate (SSN 578) in March 1959.
Skate cracking the ice back in the day
Just as the as-yet-to-be-identified SSN that sank the Iranian Dena last week carried three Royal Australian Navy personnel who are busy learning their trade on nuclear-powered hunter killers for AUKUS, Delaware is carrying a small team of RN submariners, while SUBPAC’s Santa Fe has a few more Ozzys.
“The three-week operation brings together U.S. forces and international partners to research, test, and evaluate operational capabilities in the challenging Arctic environment,” notes SUBLANT.