U.S. nuclear submarine dubbed ‘rider of the apocalypse’ enters the Mediterranean
The world’s largest nuclear submarine, the USS Rhode Island, has entered the Mediterranean Sea amid a high-stakes race between the United States and Russia for strategic submarine positioning.
The USS Rhode Island, dubbed by U.S. military personnel as ‘the rider of the apocalypse’, arrived in the Port of Gibraltar on Spain’s south coast on November 1 and was seen leaving the Port and entering the Mediterranean Sea on Saturday, November 5.
The massive submarine is capable of carrying 24 intercontinental ballistic missiles which can engage targets up to 18,000 kilometers away. It can carry up to 200 nuclear warheads.
“These submarines are flexible and survivable, with the ability to patrol continuously as a highly-effective element of the U.S. nuclear deterrence force,” says the U.S. Navy.
Rhode Island moves in as Russia ramps up nuclear sub exercises
Military experts believe the USS Rhode Island is likely heading to a strategic position in the Black Sea after Russian authorities announced Russian nuclear submarine Generalissimus Suvorov had successfully fired a ballistic missile.
The missile was fired from the Kura Test Range in the White Sea, in what was described by Russian state media as “final submarine missile testing”.
It came as a series of navigational warnings, known as Notice to Airmen (NOTAM), were issued by Russia for areas around the Barents Sea and Kara Sea in what military observers suspect relate to ongoing testing or live-fire submarine training.
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