Narrator: This is one of Russia's biggest submarines.
The Delta IV is more than twice as long
as the world's largest passenger airplane.
And it can carry missiles weighing up to 185,000 pounds.
It can even break through thick sea ice
that's taller than a person.
The submarine is part of Russia's growing arsenal
of Arctic weapons and vessels,
which includes a fleet of massive ships that can crush ice.
But why is Putin flexing his muscle in the North Pole?
We decoded Russia's latest activity
in the Arctic, it's growing bases, and weapons to find out.
Russia stages some of its Arctic Naval exercises in its
Franz Josef Land archipelago.
It's a cluster of 192 islands spread
over 6,200 square miles.
That's about the size of Connecticut.
Temperatures hover at
around -8 degrees Fahrenheit.
Russia held a high-tech training in March 2021.
This was the first time
the country surfaced three submarines at the same time --
two Delta IVs
and one Borei-class submarine,
which was introduced in 2013.
These are called hydroplanes, attached to the fin.
They typically lay horizontally,
but these are specially designed to rotate vertically
to help surface through ice.
A standard sub can break through 3 feet of ice cover,
but these shattered over 5 feet.
And that's a big deal, because submarines need
to break the ice to launch missiles or communicate.
The Russian government says it even tested firing a torpedo
from under the ice.
We could not find footage of it,
but this Maxar satellite image shows a hole
supposedly caused by the launch.
No independent journalists were allowed at the exercise,
and all footage was distributed
by the Russian Defense Ministry.
Russia's Northern Fleet also carried out exercises on land.
The Arctic Brigade uses these Ruslan vehicles,
which can carry up to 22 people.
They have four sets of tracks,
each independently powered
to help navigate harsh Arctic terrain.
These polar suits are designed to blend in with the snow,
and they carry AK-74 machine guns.
Russia developed them as an answer to America's M16
after a few were seized during the Vietnam War.
The fleet also has at least 30 A1 snowmobiles.
They're specially designed to carry a grenade launcher,
machine gun, rifle, and two pairs of skis.
The fleet also have the T-72,
a battle tank from the Soviet era used to fire shells
that can destroy other tanks.
Their cache of weapons
includes this BN-21 Grad multiple-rocket launcher.
It can fire 40 rockets in just 20 seconds,
leaving the adversary no time to take shelter.
There's also this coastal defense missile system.
Some of these Onyx missiles can target ships
nearly 200 miles away.
For the very first time,
Russia also flew its MiG-31 fighter jets
over the North Pole.
They have the ability to strike a moving target
and can reach over 67,000 feet.
That's nearly twice the cruising altitude
of a commercial airplane.
You can see they also refueled mid-flight,
which has hard to do.
Magnetic fields at the North Pole make navigating over it
especially challenging for pilots.
New or old, a lot of the equipment has clear displays
of patriotism, like Russia's red star,
the communist symbol first used by the Red Army
during World War I.
The flags of the Russian Navy were clearly visible
on all submarines and the bases are painted
in the country's national colors: white, red, and blue.
President Vladimir Putin claimed
the 2021 exercise was a huge success.
Narrator: But why is Russia's military so active in the Arctic?
Experts say it's designed to send a message to the West
that the Russian military is strong and willing to act.
But there's another more strategic reason.
As Arctic ice melts, it's opening up new opportunities.
The region is believed to hold almost a quarter
of the world's untapped oil and gas,
valued at about $30 trillion.
And the five countries
that surround the Arctic have the most to gain.
That's Norway, Denmark, Canada,
the United States, and Russia,
which by far occupies the longest stretch, with 53%
of the entire Arctic coastline.
The UN gives each of them economic rights
over a 200-mile zone around the north of their coastlines,
but there are legal ways of going beyond these limits.
In 2007, Russia planted its flag on the seabed
of the North Pole.
Many saw it as the country symbolically staking its claim
over the region.
Reports project that control over the Arctic's resources,
would give Russia economic stability.
Currently, oil and gas account for roughly 60%
of Russia's export revenue and 30% of its federal budget.
And experts say
that's why Russia is expanding its military bases here.
This one is located on Russia's Kotelny Island.
It's called Severny Klever, Russian for Northern Clover.
It refers to the design that makes it easier
for soldiers to reach its sprawling facilities
without walking outside.
It stocks enough food and fuel to house 250 personnel
for an entire year.
The base also has a recreational center
with a Russian pool table, ping pong,
and even a workout area.
Just 1,200 miles away from Severny Klever
is another base.
This one is called Arkticheskiy Trilistnik,
Russian for Arctic Trefoil,
which refers to the three pods extending
from the central atrium.
This one is the administration center,
this is the medical and rec center,
and this is the cafeteria.
Personnel live inside the star-shaped structure.
It's located 600 miles south of the North Pole
on an island called Alexandra Land.
And it's built to look like a spaceship.
The stilts help it withstand snow.
The base covers 150,000 square feet,
about three times the size of a football field.
There's even a small chapel outside.
This landing strip dates back to the Cold War,
but satellite images show it's been extended.
Now it's the only one in the Arctic
that can accommodate all types of aircraft.
From here, Russia could protect the Kola Peninsula,
which is home to the majority
of Russia's naval nuclear arsenal.
But foreign policy experts believe the base is
also strategically positioned at the western end
of an international waterway called the Northern Sea Route.
The route stretches from the Bering Strait
to the Kara Gates along Russia's Arctic coast
and cuts travel time for ships going
from Asia to Europe in half compared to the Suez Canal.
Russia has utilized it for centuries to deliver food
and other supplies to residents
who live along its Arctic coastline.
But experts say using it more regularly would result
in heavy environmental damage.
Today, thinning sea ice is making the waterway easier
to navigate,
and the route has been gaining international attention,
especially after the Ever Given got stuck
in the Suez Canal in March.
In 2020, shipping traffic through the Russian Arctic rose
by about 50%.
But it amounts to only 3% of the traffic
that goes through the Suez Canal.
Putin has said he even sees control
of the Northern Sea Route as a huge economic opportunity
for Russia.
As a result,
the country has developed a massive fleet
of icebreaker ships to access the route year-round.
Right now it has about 50, and it's building more.
The Arktika is Russia's newest icebreaker.
It's thought to be the biggest and strongest ever built.
It's 567 feet long, 112 feet wide,
and about as tall as a 15-story building.
Some point out the beam is designed
to make it appear even larger.
Here's how it works.
Icebreakers have rounded bows, unlike regular ships,
which have straight hulls to cut through waves.
This allows them to ride up onto the ice
and use their weight to crush it from above.
Experts estimate the Arktika can crush
about 10 vertical feet of ice.
But Russia is the only country with icebreaker ships
that are nuclear-powered,
which means they run on uranium
and can go as long as seven years without refueling.
It's a major advantage out in remote Arctic waters.
Today, Russia uses its icebreakers
to clear the way for cargo ships
and military vessels and to access natural resources.
The US, on the other hand, has only one ice breaker
that compares in size to Russia's larger ships,
and it was built during the Cold War.
It's used for science and research purposes.
But at the end of last year,
the Polar Star set sail for the Arctic
in its first non-scientific mission since 1994.
The US Coast Guard said it would help protect US stakes
in the region.
Russia is closely monitoring the route.
It requires all ships passing through to get permission
from the Russian government
and to have a Russian pilot on board.
Now, foreign policy experts argue
an icebreaker fleet is essential
to maintaining international access to Arctic waters.
The US is now building up its fleet
and expects to have its first new ship by 2024.
Even China, which doesn't have any territory
in the Arctic, has two of its own.
And some say this is just the beginning of a race
to control one of the last remote spots on the planet.