Updates from Ice Camp, 1 CRPG, and the Marines in Norway.
So much great content has been coming from Ice Camp 26 (Boarfish), which is running for three weeks in the Beufort Sea with the surfaced USS Delaware (SSN 791) and Santa Fe (SSN 763)— marking the 100th American ice surfacings, along with personeel from U.S. Marine Corps, Air National Guard, Royal Australian Navy, Royal Canadian Navy, Royal Canadian Air Force, French Navy, Royal United Kingdom Navy, Norwegian Defence Research Institute, and the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology.
Beaufort Sea, Arctic Circle – Operation ICE CAMP 2026 participants from Arctic Submarine Lab, Naval Facilities Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center Detachment San Diego, Underwater Construction Team (UCT) TWO, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat Corporation Science, and various U.S. Navy commands pose for a photo at ICE CAMP Boarfish 2026, Mar. 17. (U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Jacob D. Bergh)
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.
Here we see Katrín Gunnarsdóttir, the Icelandic minister of foreign affairs, visiting the 688i class hunter killer USS Newport News (SSN-750), while the boat is tied up remote Grundartangi, last week.
Those are some comfortable-looking shoes (USN image)
Newport News was escorted in by the Icelandic Coast Guard cutter Tyr (ICG image)
And assisted by Faxaflóahafnir-owned tugs. Faxaflóahafnir is a government (municipal) owned ports enterprise. (USN image)
(USN image)
Faxaflóahafnir operates Grundartangi as an industrial port some 45 minutes north of Reykjavik by car, while the nearest town, Hvalfjarðarsveit, has a population of about 600.
While it seems like such a small deal, it is big for Iceland, which has notoriously been hands-off when it comes to warships, even those of NATO allies, calling in the country’s ports.
As we’ve previously covered, the country has played host to at least a half dozen Amerian subs since April 2023– including one of SUBRON 12’s Block III Virginia-class hunter-killers, USS Delaware (SSN 791)-– in the waters of Eyjafjordur for partial resupply and crew swaps, becoming sort of a new Holy Loch North. However, this is the first time an SSN has been tied up.
The Navy made sure to note this latest visit as “historic,” and Adm. Stuart B. Munsch, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa and a career submariner himself, came aboard to pin on new Dolphins on the crew that earned them this deployment.
“Iceland’s support and strategic location are critical to collective defense in the North Atlantic,” said Munsch. “Our submariners stand the watch where few can, providing unmatched undersea dominance and ensuring our nations remain secure and free.”
Meanwhile, Newport News, commissioned in 1989, is one of the oldest boats still active in SUBLANT’s inventory and is slated to begin standing down in FY26. The Icelandic government was quick to note that she “ber ekki kjarnavopn” (does not carry nuclear weapons).
Of course, they won’t be yellow when they get operational, but the Navy quietly marked a milestone in undersea warfare: the successful forward-deployed launch and recovery of the HHI Yellow Moray uncrewed underwater vehicle, a variant of the company’s REMUS 600 series UUV, from the USS Delaware (SSN 791), a Block III Virginia-class submarine. In a further note, Delaware was the first American warship commissioned while underwater, making her the ideal historical testbed for such devices.
250501-N-N0736-1001 NORFOLK (May 01, 2025) – Sailors attached to the Virginia-class fast-attack submarine USS Delaware (SSN 791) lower a Yellow Moray (REMUS 600) unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) into the water during a UUV exercise in Haakosnsvern Naval Base in Haakonsvern, Norway, and then swim it to the sub. (Courtesy Photo)
The Yellow Moray UUV executed a pre-programmed mission profile showcasing the potential to greatly enhance the Navy’s subsea and seabed warfare (SSW) capabilities. The successful completion of this mission demonstrates the feasibility of deploying robotic and autonomous systems from submarines, opening new possibilities for clandestine operations and battlespace preparation. As part of this operation, Delaware executed three Yellow Moray UUV sorties of about 6-10 hours each using the same vehicle, validating the reliability of the system and the ability to execute multiple missions without the need for divers to launch and recover the vehicle.
But wait, there is more:
This deployment also highlighted the ability of the Submarine Force and UUV Group 1 to learn fast and overcome barriers. During the first attempts to launch and recover in a Norwegian Fjord in February, the vehicle failed to recover to the torpedo tube after multiple attempts. After recovering the UUV to a surface support vessel, technicians discovered damage to a critical part. To avoid impacts to the ship’s deployment schedule and operations, the Submarine Force (SUBFOR) shipped the UUV back to the U.S. and replaced the failed component. Knowing there was another opportunity to operate the system later in the deployment, SUBFOR returned the UUV to the theater where Delaware completed an expeditionary reload, and multiple successful UUV torpedo tube launch and recovery operations. As part of the expeditionary load, the team also executed a first-ever pierside diver torpedo tube load of the UUV in Norway, providing the operational commander with flexible options.
While the Yellow Moray itself doesn’t have much information, check out this backgrounder on the REMUS 620, its developmental “daddy”:
One of the aces in the hole for the old-school Polaris Fleet Ballistic Missile submarines and their Trident descendants was Refit Site One, hidden in Holy Loch, Scotland near the Firth of Clyde.
Established as the forward base for SUBRON 14 around the tender USS Proteus (AS-19) and floating dry dock Los Alamos (AFDB-7) in 1961 with a small shoreside footprint, the tenders and SSBNs changed but Los Alamos endured and the base quietly closed after the thaw in the Cold War in 1991, capping its 30-year mission.
“Trident, The Black Knight.” USS Michigan (SSBN-727) rests quietly at the US Naval Base at Holy Loch, Scotland in 1988, waiting to be replenished for sea. Painting, Oil on Masonite; by John Charles Roach; 1984; Framed Dimensions 34H X 44W NHHC Accession #: 88-163-CU
Well, with Holy Loch long gone and the sub force still in need of some quiet out-of-the-way places to make occasionally needed pit stops on the surface, Iceland has become a friend indeed. Since April 2023, six SSNs– important to the Icelandic government nuclear-powered but not “officially” carrying nuclear weapons– have slipped into Eyjafjordur– a huge fjord in Northcentral Iceland some 15km wide and 60 km long, dotted by a few small villages and the town of Akureyri (pop 19,000)– for partial resupply and crew swaps.
For their part, Iceland provides logistical support and local security in the form of the cutters and crews of the Icelandic Coast Guard.
The ICG’s cutter Freyja recently assisted with one such service of one of SUBRON 12’s Block III Virginia-class hunter-killers, USS Delaware (SSN 791), over the weekend.
Via the ICG:
The service visits are part of Iceland’s defense commitments and an important contribution to the joint defense of the Atlantic Union. Their deployment here on land allows our allies to ensure continuity of surveillance, shorten response times, and send messages of presence and defense in the North Atlantic.
Meanwhile, down under…
In related news on the other side of the globe, the SUBRON15’s Guam-based Virginia-class hunter-killer USS Minnesota (SSN 783) arrived in sunny Western Australia on February 25, 2025, kicking off the first of two planned U.S. fast-attack submarine visits to HMAS Stirling at Freemantle in 2025.
250225-N-QR679-1011 ROCKINGHAM, Western Australia, Australia (Feb. 25, 2025) Sailors assigned to the Virginia-class fast-attack submarine USS Minnesota (SSN 783) conduct mooring operations at HMAS Stirling, Western Australia, Australia, Feb. 25, 2025. Minnesota arrived in Western Australia kicking off the first of two planned U.S. fast-attack submarine visits to HMAS Stirling in 2025. Minnesota is currently on deployment supporting the U.S. 7th Fleet, the U.S. Navy’s largest forward-deployed numbered flee
250225-N-QR679-1002 ROCKINGHAM, Western Australia, Australia (Feb. 25, 2025) The Virginia-class fast-attack submarine USS Minnesota (SSN 783) prepares to moor at HMAS Stirling, Western Australia, Australia, Feb. 25, 2025. Minnesota arrived in Western Australia kicking off the first of two planned U.S. fast-attack submarine visits to HMAS Stirling in 2025. Minnesota is currently on deployment supporting the U.S. 7th Fleet, the U.S. Navy’s largest forward-deployed numbered fleet, operating with allies and p
These three interesting mentions from DOD in the past week include the next two Virginia-class hunter killers (SSN 812 & 813)– which will be Block V subs if not improved Block VI boats, which will be the 38th and 39th of the class.
General Dynamics Electric Boat, Groton, Connecticut, is awarded a not-to-exceed $1,075,896,000 undefinitized contract action modification to previously awarded contract N00024-17-C-2100 for long lead time material associated with the Virginia class submarines SSN 812 and SSN 813. Work will be performed in Sunnyvale, California (34%); Florence, New Jersey (5%); Bethlehem, Pennsylvania (3%); Spring Grove, Illinois (2%); Tucson, Arizona (2%); Windsor Locks, Connecticut (2%); Annapolis, Maryland (2%); Minneapolis, Minnesota (2%); Peoria, Illinois (1%); Ladson, South Carolina (1%); Warren, Massachusetts (1%); and other locations less than 1% (45%), and is expected to be completed by September 2033. Fiscal 2022 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) $352,017,000 (33%); and fiscal 2023 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) $723,879,000 (67%) funding will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured. The statutory authority for this sole source award is in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1(a)(2)(iii) – only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.
If curious about the Virginias, the Navy recently released a very good short tour of classmember USS Delaware (SSN-791):
The recent contracts include a ninth ship (T-AO 213) in the John Lewis-class fleet oiler program (which have some of the worst names possible– can we just go back to rivers for oilers?).
General Dynamics National Steel and Shipbuilding Co., San Diego, California, is awarded a $736,160,588 modification to previously-awarded contract N00024-16-C-2229 to exercise the option for the detail design and construction of T-AO 213. Work will be performed in San Diego, California (58%); Iron Mountain, Michigan (8%); Crozet, Virginia (5%); Beloit, Wisconsin (4%); Mexicali, Mexico (4%); Chula Vista, California (2%); Chesapeake, Virginia (2%); National City, California (1%); Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (1%); Walpole, Massachusetts (1%); and various other locations less than one percent (14%), and is expected to be completed by March 2028. Fiscal 2023 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $736,160,588 (100%) will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Awarded May 19, 2023)
Class leader, the future USNS John Lewis (T-AO 205) on sea trials.
In 2016, the Navy awarded NASSCO with a contract to design and build the first six ships in the next generation of fleet oilers, the John Lewis-class (T-AO 205), previously known as the TAO(X). Designed to transfer fuel to U.S. Navy carrier strike group ships operating at sea, the 742-feet vessels have a full load displacement of 49,850 tons, with the capacity to carry 157,000 barrels of oil, a significant dry cargo capacity, aviation capability and up to a speed of 20 knots. The first ship, the future USNS John Lewis (T-AO 205), was delivered to the Navy last year. The future USNS Harvey Milk (T-AO 206), the future USNS Earl Warren (T-AO 207), the future USNS Robert F. Kennedy (T-AO 208), the future USNS Lucy Stone (T-AO 209), and the future USNS Sojourner Truth (T-AO 210) are currently under construction.
And going back to submarines, this contract is interesting:
Electric Boat Corp., Groton, Connecticut, is awarded a $48,627,265 modification (P00034) to previously awarded, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract N00014-19-C-1002 for the Next Generation Submarine Science and Technology Research effort. The contract modification adds five new option periods. The proposed effort is to develop technologies for transition to the Virginia and Columbia submarine acquisition programs, and to provide technology options for the next SSN class that improve submarine performance, operations, life cycle and affordability. The effort includes development of numerical modeling and simulations tools, development of engineering analysis methods, development and demonstration of component and system concepts, technology assessment, and application of ship builder expertise in engineering and submarine arrangements to evaluate and transition technology into submarine designs. The total cumulative value of this contract is $88,289,172. Work will be performed in Groton, Connecticut, and is expected to be completed by May 31, 2028. Fiscal 2022 research, development, test, and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $4,899,265 are obligated at time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Office of Naval Research, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity.
Over the weekend in the freshwater Great Lakes harbor at Burns Harbor, Indiana, USS Indianapolis (LCS-17), the latest Freedom-class littoral combat ship, commissioned. She is the fourth such vessel, and second surface combatant, to carry the moniker. While I would personally have liked to see a cruiser, LHA, or destroyer carry the name due to the legacy of CA-58, the second Indianapolis, I am nonetheless happy to see the name on the Navy list once again. Indy is the 19th LCS to be commissioned and is expected to be assigned to Littoral Combat Ship Squadron Two in Mayport. She is the fifth such Freedom assigned to LCSRON2.
USS Delaware
Elsewhere in U.S. Navy news last week, the latest Virginia-class attack submarine, PCU USS Delaware (SSN 791) was delivered to the Navy by Ingalls. Notably, when she is fully commissioned as the 7th Delaware, it will end a nearly century-long drought on the Navy List for that name which was last issued to Battleship No. 28 in 1909, a vessel that was broken up for scrap under the 1921 Washington Naval Treaty. SSN-791 is the 18th Virginia and last of the Block III boats.
USS Gerald R. Ford
Further, USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) finally departed Newport News Shipbuilding and returned to sea for the first time since beginning their post-shakedown availability in July 2018 (!) to get back to the business of conducting sea trials, now well over a year since she was commissioned. Navy officials hope she will be ready for regular fleet service by 2024.
John S. McCain
Speaking of gone for a while, USS John S. McCain (DDG 56) is underway to conduct comprehensive at-sea testing. She has been sidelined for repairs and extensive, accelerated upgrades over the last two years, following a collision in August 2017.
“This whole crew is eager to get back to sea, and that’s evident in the efforts they’ve made over the last two years to bring the ship back to fighting shape, and the energy they’ve put into preparing themselves for the rigors of at-sea operations,” said CDR Ryan T. Easterday, John S. McCain‘s commanding officer. “I’m extremely proud of them as we return the ship to sea, and return to the operational fleet more ready than ever to support security and stability throughout the region.”
Tulagi?
And in South Pacific news, the planned 75-year lease on the entire island of Tulagi (Tulaghi) in the Solomon Islands looks like it is going to fall through. Well known to students of WWII, the Japanese occupied Tulagi in May 1942 in the days just before the Battle of the Coral Sea and was captured by the 1st Marine Raiders that August, forming an important PT-boat base during the Guadalcanal Campaign (JFK’s PT-109, part of Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 2, operated from there.) They proved important in winning control of “The Slot” during that campaign. Likewise, if the Japanese had held Tulagi that summer, the whole operation would have been just that much harder to pull off.
Japanese Navy Type 1 land attack planes (Betty) make a torpedo attack on the Tulagi invasion force, 8 August 1942. The burning ship in the center distance is probably USS George F. Elliott (AP-13), which was hit by a crashing Japanese aircraft during this attack. U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph. Catalog #: NH 97766
As the crow flies, Tulagi could have been a strategic key to that part of the region as it is directly between Hawaii and Australia. This is especially true if you could pick up those keys for cheap on an extended multi-generational lease.
”I want to applaud the decision of the Solomon Islands attorney general to invalidate the Chinese effort to lease the island of Tulagi for 75 years,” said Secretary of Defense Mark T. Esper. “This is an important decision to reinforce sovereignty, transparency, and the rule of law. Many nations in the Pacific have discovered far too late that Chinese use of economic and military levers to expand their influence often is detrimental to them and their people.”
#1 & #2, the Navy christened two brand new Virginia-class SSN’s on the same day (Saturday) some 500 miles part when they broke bottles at Newport News for the future USS Delaware (SSN 791) at 10 a.m and at Groton for the future USS Vermont (SSN 792) at 11 a.m. Importantly, Delaware is the last of the Block III Virginia’s and Vermont is the first of the Block IVs as these boats increasingly replace the old 688s.
181020-N-LW591-159 Groton, Conn. (Oct. 20, 2018) Ship sponsor Gloria Valdez, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research, Development, and Acquisitions), breaks a bottle of wine produced by a Vermont vineyard to christen the Virginia-class, fast-attack submarine Pre-Commissioning Unit (PCU) Vermont (SSN 792), during a ceremony at Electric Boat in Groton, Connecticut. PCU Vermont is the third U.S. Navy vessel to be named in honor of the state of Vermont and the 19th Virginia-class, fast-attack submarine. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Steven Hoskins/Released)
“Accompanied by select ships from Carrier Strike Group Eight (CSG-8), the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) traveled north to demonstrate the flexibility and toughness of U.S. naval forces through high-end warfare training with regional allies and partners. USS America (CV 66) was the last ship to operate in the area, participating in NATO exercise North Star in September 1991.”
181019-N-EA818-0127 NORWEGIAN SEA (Oct. 19, 2018) An F/A-18E Super Hornet, assigned to the “Sunliners” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 81, launches from the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75). For the first time in nearly 30 years, a U.S. aircraft carrier has entered the Arctic Circle. Accompanied by select ships from Carrier Strike Group Eight (CSG- 8), Harry S. Truman traveled north to demonstrate the flexibility and toughness of U.S. naval forces through high-end warfare training with regional allies and partners. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Thomas Gooley/Released)
HST will be taking part in Trident Juncture, which sprawls across Norway and the surrounding areas of the North Atlantic and the Baltic Sea, including Iceland and the airspace of Finland and Sweden from Oct. 25 to Nov. 23.
More than 50,000 participants – including 14,000 U.S. service members – are expected to participate, utilizing approximately 150 aircraft, 65 ships, and more than 10,000 vehicles in support of the exercise.
