The Icebreaker Gap

Husky_Khan

The Dog Whistler... I mean Whisperer.
Founder
Sotnik
Is that title an unintentional pun? Whatever...

It's been rumored that President Biden wanted to conduct a freedom of navigation exercise across the Northern Sea over Russia but was informed that it wasn't within US capabilities to do so reliably and in fact, if conducted, could've resulted in a US Icebreaker 'breakdown' and requiring Russia to tow them through the rest of the trip.

On paper the United States government has three icebreakers (plus one, the Mackinaw, deployed solely to the Great Lakes), but one, the Polar Sea has been out of commission for over a decade after an accident and the other, the Healy, commissioned in 2000, is currently undergoing less serious repairs, leaving the Polar Star the only operating icebreaker for the US Coast Guard and it's a forty year old ship that was only expected to serve for thirty years. In comparison the Russians have around forty icebreaking ships and even the self-identified "Near Arctic" state of China has two in operation with a third nuclear powered one in the works.

Back in 2019, after a review conducted by the Trump Administration, a contract was awarded for the development and construction of several new 'Polar Security Cutters' for the Coast Guard. The Biden Administration recently prioritized an extra $170 million into the Polar Security Cutter program. It's expected that six Polar Security Cutters will be built with the first potentially being deployed in 2023, hopefully before anymore major breakdowns in the current tiny Icebreaking fleet.


Anyone have any thoughts on the Worlds' Current Icebreaker situation?
 

Bacle

When the effort is no longer profitable...
Founder
Is that title an unintentional pun? Whatever...

It's been rumored that President Biden wanted to conduct a freedom of navigation exercise across the Northern Sea over Russia but was informed that it wasn't within US capabilities to do so reliably and in fact, if conducted, could've resulted in a US Icebreaker 'breakdown' and requiring Russia to tow them through the rest of the trip.

On paper the United States government has three icebreakers (plus one, the Mackinaw, deployed solely to the Great Lakes), but one, the Polar Sea has been out of commission for over a decade after an accident and the other, the Healy, commissioned in 2000, is currently undergoing less serious repairs, leaving the Polar Star the only operating icebreaker for the US Coast Guard and it's a forty year old ship that was only expected to serve for thirty years. In comparison the Russians have around forty icebreaking ships and even the self-identified "Near Arctic" state of China has two in operation with a third nuclear powered one in the works.

Back in 2019, after a review conducted by the Trump Administration, a contract was awarded for the development and construction of several new 'Polar Security Cutters' for the Coast Guard. The Biden Administration recently prioritized an extra $170 million into the Polar Security Cutter program. It's expected that six Polar Security Cutters will be built with the first potentially being deployed in 2023, hopefully before anymore major breakdowns in the current tiny Icebreaking fleet.


Anyone have any thoughts on the Worlds' Current Icebreaker situation?
I am laughing so hard I can't hear myself think ...
This ain't funny; it's a damn big gap in a basic capability.

Keeping Arctic waters usuable, and being able to conduct FONOPs in them, is a big part of being able to secure our own (and Canada's) northern waters.

That we only have one operational icebreaker, and that another has been laid up for over 10 years, is a pretty sad state of affairs.

I hope the new Arctic cutters will be able to break ice the same way.
 

Buba

A total creep
The US seems to have been doing just fine with those few icebreakers it has. The Canadian Arctic is Canada's business. Russia is too weak/too much of a mess to be a threat there.

For the love of all that is holy, what is a FONOP?!? Is it NSFW?

This thread made me laugh so much as it reminded me of that wonderful scene in Dr. Strangelove showing the reaction of the top US military people to being informed that there is a "mine gap".

In spite of my mixed feelings towards that movie in general, IMO that scene was perfect.
 
Last edited:

Zachowon

The Army Life for me! The POG life for me!
Founder
The US has its own artic areas, mainly around Alaska, but Canada is the bigger one there, with their Navy
 

Robovski

Well-known member
Scientists speculate that during the last interglacial, the Eeemian, the Artic icepack was gone.
And somehow the fucking polar bears did not die out ...
Well, global average was up to 40C so yeah, probably no Arctic ice at all. But I was making a kind of "genius" joke where our foolish activity was smart after all.
 

Bacle

When the effort is no longer profitable...
Founder
Scientists speculate that during the last interglacial, the Eeemian, the Artic icepack was gone.
And somehow the fucking polar bears did not die out ...
That's because they just adapted to being on land for several thousand years, then went back when we started getting ice caps again.

Technically any time there is ice on the poles we are in an 'Ice Age', because always have frozen ice caps is not a given on this planet, historically.
 

Sailor.X

Cold War Veteran
Founder
Um US Navy Subs go under Arctic Ice all the damn time. We can already attack enemy assets in the Arctic. That ain't even bringing in the fact that Aircraft operating out of Alaska can also deal with threats.
 

Scottty

Well-known member
Founder
Um US Navy Subs go under Arctic Ice all the damn time. We can already attack enemy assets in the Arctic. That ain't even bringing in the fact that Aircraft operating out of Alaska can also deal with threats.

Can a boomer sub launch from under the ice?
 

Husky_Khan

The Dog Whistler... I mean Whisperer.
Founder
Sotnik
Can a boomer sub launch from under the ice?

I would reckon so... if the ice is only a few feet thick it can probably break through with more then just the tower/sail and they have tools to push ice off to the side.

Pretty sure the Russians already did tests along those lines as well.
 

Scottty

Well-known member
Founder
I would reckon so... if the ice is only a few feet thick it can probably break through with more then just the tower/sail and they have tools to push ice off to the side.

Pretty sure the Russians already did tests along those lines as well.

What you are describing is having to surface in order to launch.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Top