U.S. Naval fast-attack nuclear submarine USS Toledo smashes through thick ice in the Arctic Ocean 

This is the awe-inspiring moment that a U.S. submarine broke through several feet of ice to surface in the Arctic Ocean during a training drill.

The USS Toledo is taking part in the biennial Ice Exercise – a three-week drill to assess operation readiness in the Arctic region.   

The ice where the fast-attack nuclear submarine broke through the surface was around 16 inches thick.

The awesome moment U.S. Naval fast-attack submarine smashes through thick ice in the Arctic Ocean has been captured on video

Footage shows the moment the Los Angeles class fast-attack submarine USS Toledo surfaced in the Arctic Ocean earlier this week

The Naval submarine is taking part in a biennial three-week Ice Exercise to test military readiness in the Arctic region

In a mezmeising video taken earlier this week, the Los Angeles class fast-attack submarine breaks through a sheet of ice covering the Beaufort Sea, north of Alaska, before coming to a stop at the surface.   

Sailors are then seen coming out of the hatch of the vessel while others clean ice off the massive rig.    

‘The Arctic is a potential strategic corridor – between Indo-Pacific, Europe, and the U.S. homeland – for expanded competition. The Submarine Force must maintain readiness by exercising in Arctic conditions to ensure they can protect national security interests and maintain favorable balances of power in the Indo-Pacific and Europe if called upon,’ said Vice Adm. Daryl Caudle, Commander, Submarine Forces. 

‘ICEX 2020 provides the opportunity for the Submarine Force to demonstrate combat and tactical readiness for sustained Arctic operations in the unique and challenging Arctic environment.’ 

ICEX 2020 is a three-week drill to assess operation readiness in the Arctic region. 

USS Toledo surfaces through the ice at Ice Camp Seadragon during Ice Exercise 2020

The Navy say the exercise helps maintain regional stability while improving capabilities to operate in the Arctic environment. Sailors can be seen peeking out the top of the vessel 

‘The United States Submarine Force has been operating in the Arctic for decades, as our Navy is called upon to protect United States sovereign rights, the Submarine Force is expected to play a large role in our Arctic defense. Exercises like ICEX 2020 provide us with the opportunity to train and integrate the undersea domain into our Arctic defense,’ said Caudle.

The USS Toledo is one of two submarines taking part in the biennial Ice Exercise along with another US sub, the USS Connecticut from Bangor, Washington state.   

The Navy has set up a temporary camp on the ice in the Beaufort Sea about 150 to 175 miles miles north of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska.

Known as Ice Camp Seadragon, it was established on a sheet of ice in the Arctic Ocean, known as an ice floe.

Seadragon will serve as a temporary command center for conducting submarine operations and under-ice navigation exercises.

ICEX 2020 plays out amid emerging competition for the Arctic in an era of melting sea ice, which is opening up new transportation and resource extraction opportunities across the area

The camp consists of shelters, portable tents, a command center and infrastructure to safely house and support more than 45 personnel at any one time. 

The camp serves as a temporary command center for under-ice navigation, torpedo exercises and research. 

The camp gets its namesake from USS Seadragon (SSN-584), the first submarine to transit the Northwest Passage. 

During the transit, Seadragon conducted the first hydrographic survey of the Northwest Passage and became the first vessel to navigate under an iceberg. 

Since the success of Seadragon’s Arctic navigation initiatives, Arctic operations have been a crucial part of the missions conducted by nuclear submarines. 

The vessels will conduct multiple Arctic transits, a North Pole surfacing, scientific data collection and other training, the Navy said. 

The exercise required approval for possible unintentional disruptions to marine mammal activities such as feeding, nursing and breeding.

In its application to the National Marine Fisheries Service, the Navy said it will install portable tracking equipment for submarine training and testing near the ice camp.

The last Arctic exercise by the U.S. Submarine Force was conducted in 2018.

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