Russia is preparing the "Ivan Papanin" combat icebreaker (Project 23550) for service in the Arctic. The United States does not have ships of this class, writes military expert Peter Suchiu in an article for The National Interest.
The U.S. Navy does not have ice-class patrol ships for use in the Arctic, and the U.S. Coast Guard has only two heavy icebreakers, USCGC Polar Star and USCGC Healy. These ships have weapons, but none of them have the capabilities of the new Russian combat icebreakers.
According to Suchiu, the "Ivan Papanin" icebreaker will most likely patrol the route along the Northern Sea Route from Novaya Zemlya to the Bering Strait.
Journalists from Marine Insight note that "few countries operate warships that have icebreaker functions and are equipped with heavy weapons." Norway, Canada, and Denmark have ice-class patrol vessels, but none of them are equipped with long-range missiles like the "Ivan Papanin."
Read more on the topic:
The National Interest: Russia with Powerful Zircon Missiles Surpassed the US and China
Bulgarian Military: Variable Sweep Wing - The Main Advantage of the Russian Tu-160
