“We’ve heard these are national treasures,” Rep. John Garamendi said of the military's maintenance depots. “And yet, the . organic industrial base infrastructure is chronically underfunded to the point these facilities are relics of the past.”
these 5.5 million square miles are under an intense battle for dominance as the ice shrinks and opens new oil exploration, new shipping lanes and crucially new paths to wage war. do you have a sense of greater competition up here for capability in this space? we are well aware that we are in a great power competition environment, and the arctic is one piece of that. reporter: we went under the ice on the uss hartford, one of many u.s. submarines taking part in a competition raging, sometimes miles below the surface. weapons 3-2-1, icer, next, tube one. the hartford los angeles class nuclear attack submarine prepares to fire. show, tube one. reporter: in an instant a two-ton 20-foot-long torpedo
speeds toward an enemy submarine, target acquired and destroyed. stationary dive, stationary dive. reporter: these are just exercises. the hartford training for its primary mission, hunting and destroying enemy ships and submarines. why is it more important now to demonstrate that capability? this is our exclusive economic zone and our submarine force is capable of operating here just as we operate along our east coast and throughout the world. it shows that we are capable of doing it, and willing to come up here. outboard test factory. reporter: operating unthe arctic presents unique challenges, with no actess ogps navigati navigation, limited communications and dangers from below and above. 07 55 feet. 55 feet. reporter: ice keels as long as 150 feet extend down from the ice sheet. america s biggest challenge, however, comes from russia.