The Virginia-class fast attack submarine USS Delaware has completed a port visit to Grøtsund, Norway, as the US Navy continues to expand undersea operations in the High North, according to US Sixth Fleet.
The submarine concluded the visit on 7 September after hosting senior US Sixth Fleet personnel and Norwegian officials, with the deployment forming part of wider American activity across the Norwegian Sea and Arctic approaches.
Rear Admiral John W. Stafford, commander of Task Force 169, said operating submarines through the region was important both for European security and for the defence of the United States. He said: “Operations in the strategic gateways of the High North and Norwegian Sea are of paramount importance to maritime security, both for the defence of Europe and the defence of the U.S. homeland.”
Stafford added that routinely deploying US undersea forces alongside other capabilities was intended to improve interoperability with allies and strengthen the ability to deter and defend across the theatre. The US Navy said the presence of Delaware in the region forms part of broader efforts to maintain freedom of manoeuvre and navigation, with American submarines routinely operating between the Arctic and Atlantic.
Those deployments are used for maritime domain awareness, surveillance and wider security tasks across the European region. Virginia-class submarines are designed for a broad range of missions, including anti-submarine and anti-ship warfare, land attack, intelligence gathering, surveillance and reconnaissance, special operations and support for uncrewed systems. They can also employ Tomahawk cruise missiles for strike missions and support special operations forces from beneath the surface.
The visit to Grøtsund comes as Norway continues to play an increasingly important role in allied activity in the High North, where NATO forces regularly train and operate across the North Atlantic, Norwegian Sea and Arctic approaches. US Sixth Fleet, headquartered in Naples, oversees American naval operations across Europe and Africa and regularly works alongside NATO allies and other partner forces.
Heads need to roll that there are zero Astutes operational!
Do you mean zero on operations. There is a slight difference.
Also who exactly are you blaming.
Personally I think it good that NATO has a decent amount of scope to share out the duties and other Countries can take up the slack defending Europe and North America. I am sure that there will be a time in the not too distant future when we will be returning the favour.
I said operational not operations – there’s a big difference. Operational means not available for tasking. As for heads rolling I don’t hold any RN personnel to account instead historic Def secs and PMs whose
decision making has got us to the point of zero operational submarines. They should be asked to stand before defence select committee or review board to publicly explain and apologise.
Well quite frankly I find the current situation a little annoying but not the end of the world.
If push came to shove I’m sure many of these boats would be serviceable. The issue is we are not desperate for them at this precise moment so we will wait until they become available.
Your strategy of publicly beating up politicians is pointless. We are waiting on the current bunch to move things forward however those in the past have acted according to the public priorities. Priorities have not really been about defence until just lately.
your points make no sense. We are desperate for assets being available at a time when PMs/def secs have allowed our ASW capability to wither & nearly die (just 5 frigates remain and no SSNs at sea). Defence remains a non priority with Labour (when was the last time a fast jet was ordered or a new warship?).
Since the end of WW2 Governments have been pretty consistent and in tune. At the end of the cold war all countries including Russia and the US allowed their militaries to wither on the vine. That released money to spend on other things which boosted the world economy. Peace time military spending was all the thing.
When the Russians started panicking about the net zero agenda and worrying that it might destroy their economy things started to deteriorate. They wanted to re-establish the USSR as a minimum. It was about survival from their perspective. The Ukraine conflict (2022) was the serious move and Boris and Ben rose to the challenge well.
Now clearly Labour are in difficulty providing a massive boost to military spending whilst keeping their supporters happy however I doubt they will be in power long.
We are taking T23s out of service and they will be replaced by T26s and T31s. The T45 are pretty much back up to strength and GCAP is coming along nicely. Drones will play a significant role in all areas in the future unsurprisingly and I think they will be superior and highly effective and cheaper.
We could always be doing better but remember that western Europe will come out of this a far stronger and dominant power to a much reduced by still effective US. The Russians need to wake up and smell the coffee otherwise they will end up on the side lines and failing to benefit in the same way as other former soviet block members.
Is there a time line for when the Astute boats will be available again?
Others know better than me however we have Agamemnon in pre-sea trials and I believe one or two other who have had work done but need equipment testing or calibration before disappearing on an operation. Others we don’t really know (or I don’t) if their issues would actually prevent operational use. I suspect some maybe but not all – maybe some are waiting on spares. Might be an excellent idea to get them all operational.
I am to be fair a little surprised that extra efforts are not being made.
It’s not that extra efforts aren’t being made, Anson is finishing her maintenance period and should be out on work up fairly soon. Artful and Audacious could well be out before Xmas, or just after perhaps. All three will need to conduct work ups prior to receiving tasking.
Agamemnon will need to complete contractors sea trials before before completing an extensive set of work up/trials/noise ranging before anything else. If the stars align we could see 4 operational A boats by the end of next summer,
Deep,
Would be an impressive feat w/ submarine maintenance infrastructure only partially renovated! Needs must, evidently. 🤔😊👍
Definitely a case of ‘needs must’, and some serious planning starting to align. Things looking likely to be busy in the not to distant future on the ASW front.
Don’t believe that future T23 availability is what it needs to be, in fact I can only see it getting worse quicker and with the late entry of T26 replacements, the surface ASW side isn’t looking that healthy. So, its more a case of all hands to the pumps so to speak, as the only extra available ASW assets are the A boats and the 9 P8s we have.
Deep,
Agree w/your assessment, w/ several possible provisos. Every indication T-23 class will simply not remain viable for the projected RN timeline. However, someone at the Admiralty will eventually realize Polish variant of T-31 will have (some) ASW capability and lobby successfully for similar RN equipment fit, either through a capability insertion period or mid-life update. Similarly, an enterprising RAF leader will advocate for an additional 3-6 P-8A. Why? “NATO 3.0” identified ENATO shortfalls will politically compel additional HMG defence investment, however begrudgingly and unhappily approved. Almost a guaranteed slam dunk. 🤔🤞
Thats a distinct possibility, however much HMG are unhappy about the extra spend.
Personally can’t see the T23s going much beyond 2031/2 and that’s only the last 1 (St. Albans?). We should have the first 2 T26s in service post trials by early 2030, however, rumour mill has Norway getting hulls 3&4. Another rumour is that H5, possibly H6 could be going to ur northerly neighbours!!!! Non of which is any good for sovereign capabilities.
First T31 won’t be operationally in service much before mid 2029, no matter how desperate we need her, fitting her with some form of sonar won’t happen until post 30/31 if it ever did.
Surface ASW picture for the UK not necessarily looking too bright imo, just my pessimistic take on it.
Well and good. But where are the Astutes? Their ongoing absence from operational duties should be an utter scandal but it isn’t.
Thats a distinct possibility, however much HMG are unhappy about the extra spend.
Personally can’t see the T23s going much beyond 2031/2 and that’s only the last 1 (St. Albans?). We should have the first 2 T26s in service post trials by early 2030, however, rumour mill has Norway getting hulls 3&4. Another rumour is that H5, possibly H6 could be going to ur northerly neighbours!!!! Non of which is any good for sovereign capabilities.
First T31 won’t be operationally in service much before mid 2029, no matter how desperate we need her, fitting her with some form of sonar won’t happen until post 30/31 if it ever did.
Surface ASW picture for the UK not necessarily looking too bright imo, just my pessimistic take on it.