U.S. Navy Conducts Submarine Exercises In Arctic

The U.S. Navy conducted exercises in the Arctic in order to test the operational readiness of its submarine fleet. Two submarines, the USS Hartford and the USS Hampton, docked at Ice Camp Sargo on March 14th, a temporary camp set up on a floating ice sheet about 200 miles north of Alaska from which they conducted the exercises. The Navy has said the five-week exercises, dubbed Ice Exercise, ICEX 2016, will give its submarine force a chance to train in test its skills in the challenging Arctic theater. An article in the Navy Times says the exercise will bring the Navy and other armed services agencies together with participants from several other nations. Officials with the Navy deny the exercises are targeted at Russian expansion in the Arctic. The Navy has conducted under-ice operations in the Arctic for more than five decades.