Navy

The Navy sends a carrier back to Russia’s Arctic haunts

Navy carrier aviation is back in the Arctic Circle for the first time in nearly 30 years, the latest sign that the Pentagon is looking to flex its muscles during an era of great power competition.

The Harry S. Truman entered the Norwegian Sea on Friday, the first flattop to do so since September 1991, according to a U.S. 6th Fleet press release.

The carrier and select escorts from its strike group are preparing to participate in a massive NATO exercise straddling late October and early November, but they arrived Friday in fast-thawing northern waters in the wake of warnings from the Navy’s top officer about rising Russian activities there.

The Truman’s path on Friday was across what strategists call the “GIUK Gap,” waters around Greenland, Iceland and the United Kingdom considered vital if American warship must rush to Europe to aid allies.

It’s also a key route for Russian submarines slipping into the North Atlantic.