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THE LORD HAS OPENED HIS ARMOURY

Russian attack submarine sailed in Gulf of Mexico undetected

BY: Bill Gertz August 14, 2012, Washington Free Beacon

A Russian nuclear-powered attack submarine armed with long-range cruise missiles operated undetected
in the Gulf of Mexico for several weeks and its travel in strategic U.S. waters was only confirmed after it left
the region, the Washington Free Beacon has learned. It is only the second time since 2009 that a Russian
attack submarine has patrolled so close to U.S. shores.

The stealth underwater incursion in the Gulf took place at the same time
Russian strategic bombers made incursions into restricted U.S. airspace
near Alaska and California in June and July, and highlights a growing mili-
tary assertiveness by Moscow.

The submarine patrol also exposed what U.S. officials said were deficiencies

in U.S. anti-submarine warfare capabilities—forces that are facing cuts under

the Obama administration’s plan to reduce defense spending by $487 billion over the next 10 years. The Na-

vy is in charge of detecting submarines, especially those that sail near U.S. nuclear missile submarines, and

uses undersea sensors and satellites to locate and track them. The fact that The Akula was
the Akula was not detected in the Gulf is cause for concern, U.S. offi-

cials said. built for one rea-

The officials who are familiar with reports of the submarine patrol in the Gulf son and one rea-
of Mexico said the vessel was a nuclear-powered Akula-class attack submarine,

one of Russia’s quietest submarines. A Navy spokeswoman declined to com- son only: To kill

ment. One official said the Akula operated without being detected for a U.S. Navy ballistic
month.

“The Akula was built for one reason and one reason only: To kill U.S. Navy missile subma-

ballistic missile submarines and their crews,” said a second U.S. official. “…. rines and their
The U.S. Navy operates a strategic nuclear submarine base at Kings Bay, Geor- crews,
gia. The base is homeport to eight missile-firing submarines, six of them
equipped with nuclear-tipped missiles, and two armed with conventional war-

head missiles.

“Sending a nuclear-propelled submarine into the Gulf of Mexico-Caribbean region is another manifesta-
tion of President Putin demonstrating that Russia is still a player on the world’s political-military stage,”
said naval analyst and submarine warfare specialist Norman Polmar. “Like the recent deployment of a task
force led by a nuclear cruiser into the Caribbean, the Russian Navy provides him with a means of ‘showing
the flag’ that is not possible with Russian air and ground forces,” Polmar said in an email.

The last time an Akula submarine was known to be close to U.S. shores was 2009, when two Akulas were
spotted patrolling off the east coast of the United States. Those submarine patrols raised concerns at the
time about a new Russian military assertiveness toward the United States, according to the New York
Times, which first reported the 2009 Akula submarine activity.The latest submarine incursion in the Gulf fur-
ther highlights the failure of the Obama administration’s “reset” policy of conciliatory actions designed to
develop closer ties with Moscow.

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