NATO trains to hunt Russian nuclear submarines without US forces for first time
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and US President Donald Trump (photo: flickr.com)
NATO allies have gathered near Iceland to practice hunting Russian submarines. For the first time in the long history of these drills, no American ship or aircraft has joined them, Politico reports.
Drills without US forces
The outlet says the exercises involve German reconnaissance aircraft, Canadian warships and Belgian fighter jets. However, for the first time since the annual drills known as Northern Viking began, no US ship or aircraft has joined the operation.
The NATO forces, led by a French commander, aimed to demonstrate to themselves and Moscow that they can defend the continent without American leadership.
Just two years ago, the exercises involved two US Navy amphibious assault ships carrying large numbers of Marines and aircraft. Now, with most of the US fleet deployed to the Middle East and the Caribbean, the North Atlantic is largely being patrolled by Canadian and European vessels.
Strategic significance of Iceland
Iceland lies in the middle of a route favored by the Russian navy for deploying stealthy submarines capable of carrying nuclear weapons. The stretch of icy waters between Greenland, Iceland and the United Kingdom is known in NATO as the GIUK gap—the area where Russian nuclear-powered submarines enter the Atlantic from their bases on the Kola Peninsula.
"For NATO and for Russia, this is really a dividing line. For the Russians, if they can control access to that gap, and get their submarines on the other side of it, then they've got free reign of the Atlantic," a senior NATO official said.
US pullback from the region
According to Politico, the absence of American ships underscores a pullback that began under Trump's second administration. The US president had previously threatened to withdraw troops from Europe and also expressed plans to buy or even seize Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark and a NATO ally.
An alliance spokesperson said such exercises help establish a permanent presence in the North Atlantic. At the same time, French Rear Admiral Nicolas Molitor, who led the coalition, acknowledged that the focus has shifted, although the group continues to conduct separate drills with the US Navy.
Meanwhile, the hidden confrontation between NATO and Russia has been intensifying in the North Atlantic.
Earlier, British Defense Secretary John Healey warned of a dangerous cat-and-mouse game between the two sides in the region, where Russian submarines regularly operate in northern waters.
