The US Navy is forming a new Task Force called the Greyhound. It consists of destroyers that can be deployed as soon as possible to counter Russian submarines in the Atlantic Ocean. To perform the tasks of combat duty in front of the group, at least & nbsp; four ships.
According to foreign media, according to US intelligence, modern Russian nuclear submarines are increasingly crossing the Faro-Icelandic border, NATO's anti-submarine defense line between Greenland, ; Iceland and Great Britain, and headed for the coasts of the United States. In addition, the creation of a new task force is due to the fact that the US Navy has reoriented its resources and efforts towards the Atlantic region due to the growth of Russia's submarine potential and concerns about Russian submarines operating in these waters.
On the formation of a new group named after a breed of hunting dog (in Russian it is called an English greyhound), in addition, the “ Greyhounds '' 39; During World War II, the names of American warships that escorted merchant ships across the Atlantic, protecting them from German submarines, were named, USNI News reported. The commander of the Navy's surface forces in the Atlantic said the group would be ready to perform a full range of tasks, including monitoring Russian submarine activities in the Atlantic and protecting the country. at sea.
The Greyhound will initially include destroyers Donald Cook and Thomas Hudner, who have extensive experience in anti-submarine warfare. The destroyer Gravely will replace it when Donald Cook leaves for maintenance in January.
Destroyers The Sullivan, Cole will join the group later. According to the representative of the US Navy, a stable duty schedule should be formed, in which, in the end, four ships will be constantly involved to carry out the tasks of the group. The group will be in full combat readiness by summer 2022.
The creation of the destroyer group reflects the growing competition in the military-technical field between the United States, Russia and China. Last month, the US Coast Guard was informed that four Chinese warships had sailed in international waters off the Aleutian Islands.
The decision to send four Arleigh Burke-class destroyers on alert to track the submarines was taken following the reestablishment of the U.S. 2nd Fleet in 2018 in response to the ship deployment warships in the North Atlantic on a scale never seen before. during the Cold War.
Currently, the Russian Navy has much quieter nuclear submarines, especially Yasen-class submarines. and 'Ash-M', which are armed with cruise missiles. It is expected that the Yasen-M submarines will be armed with the new Zircon hypersonic cruise missile, which Russia says has been tested at more than eight times the speed of sound.