US Naval Forces Europe-Africa
- A US Navy nuclear-powered submarine arrived in Iceland for the first time on Wednesday.A top admiral told BI that USS Newport News' visit sends a message to America's adversaries.It comes as the US looks to the Arctic with concern amid growing Russia and Chinese activity.
A US Navy nuclear-powered attack submarine stopped in Iceland for the first time on Wednesday. A top admiral told Business Insider that the unprecedented port call sent a message to American foes.
The first-of-its-kind visit to the Nordic island nation by the Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS Newport News comes as the US and NATO allies look with increasing concern at the growing Russian military activity across the Arctic and High North.
Adm. Stuart Munsch, the commander of US Naval Forces Europe-Africa, said there is value in having different options throughout the region where American submarines can make port visits.
Speaking to BI in a phone interview from the Icelandic capital, Reykjavik, Munsch said the submarine port call is "also important for the strategic signal it sends to adversaries about our presence in the area" and for the reassurance it provides to US allies.
The US views Iceland as a centerpiece within its Arctic strategy due to its strategic location. The country joined NATO as a founding member in 1949, but unlike other members of the alliance, it does not have a military. It, however, hosted Western troops during the Cold War, including a major American presence.
"The US, for many decades, maintained a naval air base here," the admiral said of Iceland, and relied on assets stationed in the country "to track Soviet submarine operations, then Russian submarine operations."
US Navy photo by Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Kenji Shiroma/Released
Munsch said "it's important to us to have additional options for where we can make strong port calls" and maintain a strong presence in the region that stretches from Greenland to Iceland and the United Kingdom. That's a key point made in the Pentagon's 2024 Arctic Strategy.
While the strategy outlines Russia's increasing military and economic interest in the Arctic, it also draws attention to China's efforts to expand its influence in the region. The US sees Iceland as a key element of its security and deterrence efforts, as these two US rivals seek to project power into the strategic area.
Erin Sawyer, chargé d'affaires at the US Embassy in Iceland, said in a statement Wednesday that Washington and Reykjavik "maintain the shared goal of low tension in the Arctic, with full awareness of Russia's efforts to build its military presence in the region."
The Navy has been working with the Icelandic government for years, but mainly from a distance. For instance, an American vessel would pull up off the coast and maybe change out personnel or bring aboard supplies.
In 2023, Iceland welcomed the first US nuclear-powered sub into its territorial waters. But Newport News' arrival in port this week — tied up to a pier and sending crew members ashore — marks a new moment in the relationship, Munsch said.
Just over 40 Los Angeles-class submarines are in active service, making up a significant portion of the Navy's fast-attack submarine fleet. Newer Virginia-class vessels have, however, taken on an increasingly central role. USS Newport News, a late-1980s Los Angeles-class sub, is armed with Tomahawk cruise missiles and torpedoes and has conducted missions around the globe.
US undersea capabilities are considered a cornerstone of American naval power. "The submarine force has been operating globally for many decades now," Munsch said, "and there's really no region that we have ever ceded to anyone else."
