According to Rear Admiral Kenneth Perry, commander of all U.S. attack submarines based on the East Coast, one of the Virginia-class attack boats in Groton, Connecticut is being prepared for the next Ice Exercises, but they could be jeopardized by military spending cuts brought about by budget crises in Washington, Washington Post reports.
The last Ice Exercise was held in March 2011, as BarentsObserver reported.
The submarine force has been conducting exercises every few years to test and assert its capabilities in the Arctic, where frigid water and acoustics present challenges unlike any other ocean. The intensity of U.S. submarine operations in the Arctic has tapered off since the Cold War, but American subs continue to keep a presence there and transit the area when traveling between the Atlantic and the Pacific, Kerry said.
