The U.S. Prepares To Track Russian Submarines In the North Atlantic

NATO forces conduct an anti-submarine exercise in the North Sea off the coast of Norway in May 2015. The Pentagon plans to upgrade the Keflavik Naval Air Station in Iceland to counter Russia's growing military presence in the North Atlantic. Marit Hommedal/NTB Scanpix via Reuters

CSM: Why does the Pentagon want to refurbish a base in Iceland?

The $21.4 million in upgrades are designed to equip the station with reconnaissance planes that will patrol the North Atlantic for Russian submarines.

REYKJAVIK, ICELAND — When the United States closed the Keflavik Naval Air Station in Iceland in 2006, military analysts in both nations were stunned.

While a menacing Russian agenda – the genesis of the base in 1951 – seemed remote in the aftermath of the cold war, Iceland was still viewed as a gem of a monitoring post.

Now, the US is giving its strategic value a fresh appraisal.

Last month, the Pentagon allocated $21.4 million in its 2017 fiscal budget to renew hanger facilities and restore infrastructure at the base. The planned upgrades will pave the way for basing P-8 Poseidon reconnaissance planes there. The submarine-hunting P-8s will help patrol the North Atlantic – and serve as a counterbalance to Russia's growing military presence in the region.

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WNU Editor: Bit by bit the old "Cold War" is coming back.