COLD WAR IN THE ARCTIC.

The article focuses on the increasing geopolitical competition in the Arctic driven by climate change and melting ice, which is opening new shipping routes and access to resources. Russia is militarizing its Arctic presence, while China advances its "Polar Silk Road" initiatives, prompting NATO to strengthen its defense posture in the region, now including most Arctic Council members. Historically, the Arctic has been strategically significant, especially during World War II and the Cold War, when submarine operations and surveillance in areas like the Barents Sea and the Greenland–Iceland–UK gap were critical for NATO’s security. The Royal Navy developed under-ice submarine capabilities from the late 1940s through the Cold War, highlighted by nuclear-powered vessels operating beneath the ice, though such operations remain hazardous. Post-Cold War Arctic submarine patrols have been limited, with recent British submarines reportedly less equipped for thick ice navigation. [Extracted from the article]