Flight radar websites show that a U.S. Navy submarine-hunting aircraft flew from either the U.S. or Scotland to the Baltic Sea on Tuesday. As of Tuesday afternoon eastern time, the P-8 Poseidon is flying circuits over the Baltic Sea.
It’s possible that the maritime surveillance aircraft is simply training or gathering intelligence on surface vessels of Russia’s Baltic Fleet. But it may be monitoring a Russian submarine that has been conducting trials in the Baltic Sea. The Kronshtadt is the first of a new version of Russia’s Lada-class diesel-electric attack submarine. Extremely quiet, Kronshtadt will operate under command of Russia’s Northern Fleet. That will likely see Kronshtadt act as a screening unit to defend Russian ballistic missile submarines in the Arctic and Barents seas from U.S. and British attack submarines attempting to track them. This cat-and-mouse game is the centerpiece of NATO’s nuclear deterrent strategy. It is thus a critical U.S. military priority that its forces can identify, track and, if necessary, destroy these Russian forces.
