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U.S. Navy Launches Operation ICE CAMP Boarfish with Two Attack Submarines to Test Arctic Under-Ice Ops.
The U.S. Navy began Operation ICE CAMP Boarfish on March 7, 2026, in the Arctic Ocean, deploying the attack submarines USS Delaware and USS Santa Fe to conduct under-ice training supported by a temporary camp on drifting sea ice. The exercise highlights renewed U.S. focus on Arctic submarine operations as melting ice and growing Russian and Chinese interest increase strategic competition in the region.
On March 7, 2026, the U.S. Navy officially launched Operation ICE CAMP Boarfish in the Arctic Ocean, with the attack submarines USS Delaware and USS Santa Fe serving as the centerpiece of a new under-ice deployment. The operation began after the establishment of a temporary camp on drifting sea ice, creating a forward base to support one of the Navy’s most demanding submarine training events. The significance is immediate: as the Arctic becomes an increasingly active strategic theater, the ability to operate, navigate, and coordinate beneath the ice has once again become a visible priority for the U.S. submarine force.
The U.S. Navy launched Operation ICE CAMP Boarfish in the Arctic on March 7, 2026, deploying the attack submarines USS Delaware and USS Santa Fe to conduct complex under-ice training supported by a temporary expeditionary camp built on drifting sea ice (Picture Source: U.S. Navy)
Operation ICE CAMP Boarfish is centered on testing and refining under-ice submarine operations, making the participation of USS Delaware and USS Santa Fe particularly significant. U.S. Fleet Forces Command states that the three-week mission is designed to evaluate operational capabilities in the Arctic while strengthening cooperation with allied and partner forces. Rather than serving as a symbolic polar deployment, the operation is intended to generate practical lessons on how U.S. submarines perform in one of the most challenging maritime environments in the world.
USS Delaware brings to the operation the capabilities of the Virginia-class, the U.S. Navy’s newer generation of nuclear-powered fast-attack submarines designed for a broad range of open-ocean and littoral missions. As SSN-791, Delaware represents the more modern end of the American attack submarine fleet, and its role in ICE CAMP Boarfish places a contemporary multi-mission platform in an environment where stealth, endurance, navigational precision, and acoustic awareness are tested under extreme conditions. Its participation allows the Navy to assess how a Virginia-class submarine performs beneath shifting Arctic ice while operating within a wider multinational framework.
USS Santa Fe adds a different but equally important dimension. The Los Angeles-class SSN-763 remains part of the Navy’s combat-ready undersea force, and its inclusion provides a useful contrast with Delaware. By deploying both a Virginia-class and a Los Angeles-class submarine, the Navy can compare operational performance, crew procedures, and mission adaptability across two major generations of attack submarines. That pairing gives ICE CAMP Boarfish value beyond a routine exercise, as it helps validate under-ice readiness across a broader portion of the fleet rather than within a single platform category.
The operation also reflects a deliberate effort to place the Arctic back at the center of practical submarine planning. According to the official Navy account, ICE CAMP Boarfish follows the construction of a temporary ice camp and marks the 100th Arctic under-ice evolution for the U.S. Submarine Force. The event therefore, combines experimentation, operational rehearsal, and strategic signaling. The name “Boarfish” also carries historical resonance, referring to USS Boarfish, a submarine associated with early postwar Arctic exploration efforts and linking the 2026 mission to a longer U.S. naval tradition beneath the polar ice.
The broader context explains why USS Delaware and USS Santa Fe matter so much in this operation. The Department of Defense’s 2024 Arctic Strategy described the region as an area of growing strategic importance and called for a more visible and capable military presence there. In that context, ICE CAMP Boarfish is not simply about cold-weather proficiency. It demonstrates that the Navy intends to preserve reliable submarine access in the Arctic through real deployments, infrastructure established directly on the ice, and the testing of front-line platforms in demanding operational conditions. Delaware and Santa Fe are therefore not merely participating units; they are the operational core of a message about persistence, adaptability, and combat credibility in the High North.
Operation ICE CAMP Boarfish gives concrete expression to the U.S. Navy’s Arctic ambitions, and USS Delaware and USS Santa Fe are the clearest symbols of that intent. By sending two fast-attack submarines from different generations of the fleet beneath the ice, the Navy is showing that Arctic readiness is no longer theoretical. It is being tested now with real submarines, in real conditions, in a theater where undersea advantage may become increasingly decisive.