Donald Trump, President of the USA has requested a fleet of icebreaker to toast the US a strong presence in the arctic and antarctic regions.
In a memo dated June 9 (2020), the White House has requested armed and nuclear powered icebreakers involved in national security operations and business interests.
It should be noted that President Trump’s request is really very ambitious, because the United States currently only has a former non-nuclear icebreaker, while Russia has been expanding its huge fleet of nuclear icebreakers.
Icebreaker race
For many years, Russia has viewed the waters off its northern coast as a key economic asset, for oil or gas exploration and as a shipping route for trade making the shortest trips from Europe to Asia.
These are some of the reasons why Russia has increased its military presence at Arctic in recent years. It has implemented new air bases, ships, and ground forces to support these interests.
And without a doubt, icebreakers are a key strategy to operate in these waters. Currently, Russia owns four nuclear powered icebreakers. Among them are Yamal and 50 Let Pobody, with 25,000 tons and breaking ice up to nine meters thick to create a channel. The following impressive video shows an icebreaker doing its job.
And even bigger ships are known to be on the scene, with the first of five in the class. Artika powered vehicles tested at sea.
Highlights | Arktika is more than 33,000 tons, but it will not be the biggest for long. In April, Russia ordered the first class icebreaker, Leader, of 69,000 tons and two more are expected to follow. The latter will cost an estimated $ 1.7 billion (each), and the ability to traverse more than 3 meters of ice and cope with the worst inclement weather you can find in the Arctic.
Russia is also known to be building special warships for Arctic operations, and the first of two Class ice patrol ships, Ivan Papanin, will be delivered next year. These 8,000-ton ships carry one weapon and sixteen cruise missile launchers capable of targeting ships or ground targets, as well as an armed helicopter.
US situation
Next to Russia, the situation of the USA looks troubling | their only icebreaker, the USCGC Polar StarIt is only 3,000 tons (half the size of the smallest Russian icebreakers) and has no nuclear power propulsion. This means that if Polar Star breaks down in the middle of the sea, no other ship will be able to rescue it. Because of this, the Coast Guard has noted this deficiency for many years.
The Coast Guard ordered a replacement for Polar Star in 2019 with delivery scheduled for 2024, and plans two more in the next four years. However, the new White House memorandum leans more toward military and economic activity and away from science.
In particular, the Memorandum seeks new features such as “adequate defensive weapons to defend against threats from nearby competitors.” American icebreakers like Polar Star are unarmed, and other Coast Guard ships carry small-caliber weapons suitable for actions against smugglers, pirates, and criminals, not sea battles.
The Memorandum also requests that icebreakers deploy “unmanned aviation, surface and submarine systems.” In addition they would be used as spy ships with “intelligence gathering systems”, “secure communications and data transfer” and “sensors and other systems to achieve and maintain awareness of the maritime domain.” Clearly this could lead to problems with the Russian Arctic forces.
Most important of all, it suggests exploring the “nuclear-powered potential,” suggesting a new generation of much larger American icebreakers.
In the face of concern, a US government spokesman said the requested icebreakers are not primarily about balance of power with Russia. Although this is quite difficult to believe, seeing the reasons why these new ships have been requested.
Source | Forbes.com
