Arctic Ice Volume Has Increased 25% Since May, 2008

(WattsUpWithThat) – The Navy requires accurate sea ice information for their operations, and has spent a lot of effort over the years studying, measuring, and operating in Arctic ice both above and below, such as they did in the ICEX 2009 exercise.

The US Navy attack submarine USS Annapolis (SSN 760) rests in the Arctic Ocean after surfacing through three feet of ice during Ice Exercise 2009 on March 21, 2009. The two-week training exercise, which is used to test submarine operability and war-fighting capability in Arctic conditions, also involved the USS Helena (SSN 725), the University of Washington and personnel from the Navy Arctic Submarine Laboratory.

So, if you are planning on bringing a $900 million Los Angeles class submarine through the ice, as the captain might say to the analyst after receiving an ice report: “you’d better be damn sure of the ice thickness before I risk the boat and the crew”.

Secret US-Israeli meeting to focus on Iran

Amid reports that Israel is preparing to bomb Iranian nuclear sites, political heavyweights in Washington and Tel Aviv make plans for a secret get-together.

MSM: Israeli sub sails Suez, signaling reach to Iran

(Reuters) – An Israeli submarine sailed the Suez Canal to the Red Sea as part of a naval drill last month, defense sources said on Friday, describing the unusual maneuver as a show of strategic reach in the face of Iran.

MSM: Russia building anti-satellite weapons

Russia is working on anti-satellite weapons to match technologies developed by other nations and will speed up modernization of its nuclear forces, a deputy defense minister was quoted as saying today.

Russia test launches ICBM from White Sea, hits Kamchatka target

MOSCOW, November 28 – The Dmitry Donskoi Typhoon-class strategic nuclear-powered submarine has carried out another test launch of a Bulava intercontinental ballistic missile, a Defense Ministry source said on Friday.

“The Bulava was launched from a submerged position in the White Sea toward a target located at the Kura test site on the Kamchatka Peninsula,” the source said.

MSM: Russia’s nuclear deterrent in good shape – Medvedev

MOSCOW: Russia has successfully test-fired four long-range nuclear-capable missiles over the weekend in an unprecedented show of force that has not been seen since the Cold War era.