Navy SEALs on snowmobiles raced across the frozen Arctic to link up with an attack sub that broke the ice during a special ops first

Deep into the Arctic Circle, US Navy SEALs and allied commandos recently dashed across the frozen ground on snowmobiles to link up with a surfaced submarine that had busted through the ice in a historic training exercise that put the sub-zero skills of the special operations forces to the test.

Last week, over 400 special operations forces, including SEALs and US Army Green Berets and 160th SOAR crews, as well as foreign partners, participated in drills as part of the broader Arctic Edge 24 training event.

During one first-of-its-kind training event, special operations MH-47G Chinook helicopters dispatched SEALs and other SOF personnel and snowmobiles onto the Arctic terrain to retrieve and deliver a package dropped from a C-130 to the Navy attack submarine USS Hampton that had breached the icy surface only moments earlier.

This was the first time that SOF personnel, SOF aircraft, and snowmobiles have ever worked together to execute an operation involving a submarine that had surfaced through thick ice so deep in the Arctic Circle.

“Naval Special Warfare’s unique ability to conduct complex operations in the water column, and in maritime domains such as the Arctic, discourages aggression from potential adversaries,” Naval Special Warfare Group Two Commodore Capt. Bill Gallagher said in a release on the training.

Special operations forces from other countries, such as Norway, Canada, Denmark, and the United Kingdom also participated in the exercise, which stretched from Alaska, across Canada, and into Greenland, to help integrate new strategies for optimal sub-zero Arctic combat.

The training was carried out as a way to prepare for adversarial threats. Previously, the US had less of a focus on the Arctic, but with Russia and China taking up an increased presence in the region, the US now has more interest in pursuing Arctic training.

There’s more pressure on the US military to invest in crucial resources like icebreakers, strong ships that easily cut through ice to create pathways. The US fleet is vastly disproportionate to Russia’s fleet. But readiness is about more than icebreakers.

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