U.S. Navy ship arrives in Anchorage
ANCHORAGE (KTUU) - The USS Momsen, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, arrived in Anchorage Wednesday morning as part of a three-day meeting of senior military officials to discuss operations in the Arctic.
The Arctic Maritime Symposium will also bring together intelligence analysts and other experts to look at the “strategic challenges associated with Arctic maritime operations.
“We want to understand what capabilities and requirements are needed in this changing environment,” said Col. Marck Schmidt, director of Alaskan Command. “Along with a new national defense strategy and then those great power competitors also having an interest.
The USS Momsen’s arrival comes after a recent visit to Alaska by U.S. Navy Secretary Richard Spencer, who stressed the need for the Navy to expand its presence in the Arctic.
[RELATED: U.S. Secretary of the Navy calls for greater presence in Alaska]
“When it comes to freedom of navigation, we are going to get gray ships up here with American flags on the back,” he told Channel 2 in a Monday interview alongside Sen. Dan Sullivan.
Destroyers like the USS Momsen are designed with multi-mission capability, meaning the warship can fight in many different types of warfare including air, surface, undersea and even cyber. CDR Elaine Brunelle, the ship’s commanding officer says this would be a big asset to joint military operations in the arctic.
“I think with our multi-mission capabilities we're able to look in the 3D spectrum in the air, on the surface, under the water. We bring a different capability that we can work in the joint environment with the other forces,” Brunelle said.
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