A US Navy nuclear-powered attack submarine just made an unprecedented stop. A top admiral says it sent a message.

• A US Navy nuclear-powered submarine arrived successful Iceland for the archetypal clip connected Wednesday.

• A apical admiral told BI the USS Newport News' sojourn sent a connection to America's adversaries.

• It comes arsenic the US looks to the Arctic with interest amid increasing Russia and Chinese activity.

A US Navy nuclear-powered onslaught submarine stopped successful Iceland for the archetypal clip connected Wednesday. A apical admiral told Business Insider the unprecedented larboard telephone sent a connection to American foes.

The first-of-its-kind sojourn to the Nordic land federation by the Los Angeles-class onslaught submarine USS Newport News came arsenic the US and NATO allies look with expanding interest astatine the increasing Russian subject enactment crossed the Arctic and High North.

Adm. Stuart Munsch, the commandant of US Naval Forces Europe-Africa, said there's worth successful having antithetic options passim the portion wherever American submarines tin marque larboard visits.

Speaking with BI successful a telephone interrogation from Iceland's capital, Reykjavík, Munsch said the submarine larboard telephone was "also important for the strategical awesome it sends to adversaries astir our beingness successful the area" and for the reassurance it provides to US allies.

The US views Iceland arsenic a centerpiece wrong its Arctic strategy due to the fact that of its strategical location. The state joined NATO arsenic a founding subordinate successful 1949, but dissimilar different members of the alliance, it doesn't person a military. It did, however, big Western troops during the Cold War, including a large American presence.

"The US, for galore decades, maintained a naval aerial basal here," and relied connected assets stationed successful the state "to way Soviet submarine operations, past Russian submarine operations," the admiral said of Iceland.

Munsch said that "it's important to america to person further options for wherever we tin marque beardown larboard calls" and support a beardown beingness successful the portion that stretches from Greenland to Iceland and the United Kingdom. That's a cardinal constituent made successful the Pentagon's 2024 Arctic strategy.

While the strategy outlines Russia's expanding subject and economical involvement successful the Arctic, it besides draws attraction to China's efforts to grow its power successful the region. The US sees Iceland arsenic a cardinal constituent of its information and deterrence efforts, arsenic these 2 US rivals question to task powerfulness into the strategical area.

Erin Sawyer, the chargé d'affaires astatine the US Embassy successful Iceland, said successful a connection connected Wednesday that Washington and Reykjavik "maintain the shared extremity of debased hostility successful the Arctic, with afloat consciousness of Russia's efforts to physique its subject beingness successful the region."

The Navy has been moving with the Icelandic authorities for years, but chiefly from a distance. For instance, an American vas would propulsion up disconnected the seashore and possibly alteration retired unit oregon bring aboard supplies.

In 2023, Iceland welcomed the archetypal US nuclear-powered sub into its territorial waters. But Newport News' accomplishment successful larboard this week — tied up to a pier and sending unit members ashore — marks a caller infinitesimal successful the relationship, Munsch said.

Just implicit 40 Los Angeles-class submarines are successful progressive service, making up a important information of the Navy's fast-attack submarine fleet. Newer Virginia-class vessels have, however, taken connected an progressively cardinal role. The USS Newport News, a late-1980s Los Angeles-class sub, is equipped with Tomahawk cruise missiles and torpedoes and has conducted missions astir the globe.

US undersea capabilities are considered a cornerstone of American naval power. "The submarine unit has been operating globally for galore decades now," Munsch said, "and there's truly nary portion that we person ever ceded to anyone else."

Read the archetypal nonfiction connected Business Insider