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American Navy divers descended roughly 400 feet below the surface in pitch-black waters. They navigated along the ocean floor and physically attached listening devices to Soviet cables, intercepting unencrypted communications about nuclear capabilities and submarine operations.
The intelligence gathered gave U.S. negotiators a critical edge during the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks. Washington knew what Moscow had. And Moscow had no idea we were listening.
Now, according to Sullivan, Russia and China may be attempting to flip the script.
He believes joint patrols and disguised “research” vessels are mapping America’s own undersea cables and submarine transit corridors across the Arctic and North Pacific. In a future conflict, those cables would be prime targets. Submarine routes would be priceless intelligence.
Coordinated Incursions Inside Alaska’s Defense Zone
Sullivan says the data show mostly airborne incursions, including joint bomber patrols accompanied by armed fighters, along with naval vessels operating inside the ADIZ.
The ADIZ is not technically sovereign airspace. Aircraft are required to identify themselves, but they are not automatically denied entry. It functions as an early warning buffer.
What makes this moment different, Sullivan argues, is the coordination.
Joint Russian-Chinese naval task forces operating near U.S. territory while conducting synchronized bomber patrols is something American commanders have not previously faced in this region. It signals a deepening military partnership between Moscow and Beijing in America’s northern backyard.
And Alaska is not just any backyard. It is the front door to the Arctic.
Donald Trump Pushes Arctic Rebuild As Adak Returns To The Spotlight
In response, Sullivan has helped drive a significant funding push for Arctic security. A Senate Commerce subcommittee hearing resulted in $25 billion in new Coast Guard funding, including $4.5 billion for infrastructure upgrades such as a deepwater port in Nome. Nome is one of the closest U.S. cities to Russia.
The funding also aims to expand America’s icebreaker fleet. The United States currently operates just two icebreakers, with one out of service. Russia operates more than 50.
One of the most strategic moves under consideration is reopening the old naval base on Adak Island, located at the far end of the Aleutian chain. During World War II, Adak played a key role when Japanese forces attacked parts of the Aleutians. During the Cold War, it became a listening post and forward operating base monitoring Soviet movements in the North Pacific before shutting down in 1997.
Admiral Samuel Paparo, commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, recently testified that reopening Adak could increase maritime patrol reconnaissance aircraft coverage in the North Pacific by up to ten times.
That kind of expansion would dramatically change the balance in a region that is quickly becoming contested.
The Arctic Is Heating Up
The Arctic is no longer a frozen afterthought in global strategy. Melting sea lanes, expanding military cooperation between Russia and China, and growing submarine activity are transforming the region into a high-stakes chessboard.
Sullivan’s warning is clear. This is not random maneuvering. It is reconnaissance with purpose.
“They were there spying on us and looking at submarine routes, looking at cables,” he said.
The same way America once walked the ocean floor to listen in on Moscow, America’s adversaries may now be mapping the lines that connect our military and economic lifelines.
The Cold War never truly ended in the Arctic. It just went quiet.
And now, it may be roaring back to life.
