White House, Finland sign deal for four icebreakers - Breaking Defense
The US Coast Guard in recent months has been signaling to industry it would soon advance its Arctic Security Cutter program through a series of requests for information and discussions with vendors from multiple countries.
Where does Finland get their STEEL? 🤔🤫
Probably Russia. The Finnish economy, especially energy is likely linked tightly to Russia still, despite the EU/NATO publicly trying to establish a "decouple from Russia" narrative. Finland may be a Russian proxy and a way for Russia to keep tabs on the EU/NATO from within.
Selection of Helsinki as a "neutral meeting location" for the Putin/Trump summit on 16JUL2018 was quite interesting and indicates Putin's comfort with his safety in Finland: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/russia-continues-to-shape-narrative-of-helsinki-summit/2018/07/20/3ea54a98-8c40-11e8-a345-a1bf7847b375_story.html
Direct link to article:https://breakingdefense.com/2025/10/white-house-finland-to-sign-deal-for-4-icebreakers/
Related Presidential Memoranda 09OCT2025: "CONSTRUCTION OF ARCTIC SECURITY CUTTERS": https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/10/construction-of-arctic-security-cutters/
Why does the US need an 'Arctic Fleet' in addition to the Atlantic and Pacific naval fleets? Because we have enemies hiding themselves or their assets in the Arctic regions, seems to be the likely answer. Icebreakers are critical to being able to safely operate naval vessels in arctic regions where there are large amounts of ice. US Navy force projection into the North Pole and Antarctic regions by an America First military should scare the crap out of the globalists hiding out in New Zealand and nearby colder regions.
A large number of them are required to create year round shipping lanes in areas that see significant ice during the winter. If one is shipping mining/pipeline/construction supplies to/from Alaska year round, these are essential, for example.
Note that during a "state of war" the US Coast Guard becomes an extension of the US Navy, and takes orders directly from the Naval Command. This is logical as the USCG then becomes a seaborne wall around the united States of America that may soon include most of western Canada (a virtual wall that would block all Chinese military and commercial vessels from the west coast of North America, including the port of Vancouver).
Don't forget Greenland. And Northern Canada, too.
Good point. Theoretically, it is possible to maintain an open sealane from Greenland to eastern Alaska free of ice for shipping purposes (basically the historically NW passage) for about 2/3 of the year. Unclear if it is cost effective or practical to keep it open during the wintertime hard freeze.
If oil drilling or mineral gathering platforms get placed into the waters off the Northern Canada coast or near Greenland, the icebreakers must be used to keep them clear so the ice flows and freezing do not destroy them.
...all that I know about icebreakers is that they have massive propulsion systems...
...aren't some of them (Russian) nuclear...
Yes, Russians have nuclear-powered icebreakers and are rumored to have portable nuclear power they use for Arctic outposts (they use the nuclear-powered icebreakers to deliver the power units and supplies to their arctic mining/mineral outposts).
The sequence of nuclear power application to icebreakers vs submarines in Russia is not clear to me, but that would probably be an interesting deep dive as the Russians appear to be way more advanced in arctic operations of all kinds compared to everyone else, except for maybe the Finns and other Nordics.
"rumored to have portable nuclear power they use for Arctic outposts"
...filed under "Highly Probable"...
...that would make perfect sense...
"Reflections on Ice Breaking"
Candy is dandy
But
Liquor is quicker
That's Ogden Nash, by the way
" Liquor is quicker "
...howls...
...I can drink all of the liquor in Costa Rica...
...and it ain't nobodies business but my own...
Ogden Nash was a genius...
The CG has had ice breakers for years, and we aint figd out how to make them. Calling b.s.