USS Toledo (SSN-769) surfaces through the ice at Ice Camp Seadragon during Ice Exercise 2020 (ICEX 20). ICEX 2020 is a three-week, biennial exercise that offers the Navy the opportunity to assess its operational readiness in the Arctic and train with other services, partner nations and Allies to increase experience in the region, and maintain regional stability while improving capabilities to operate in the Arctic environment. Ice Camp Seadragon is a temporary ice camp that was established on a sheet of ice in the Arctic Ocean, known as an ice floe.
The camp gets its namesake from USS Seadragon (SSN-584), the first submarine to transit the Northwest Passage. During the transit, Seadragon conducted the first hydrographic survey of the Northwest Passage and became the first vessel to navigate under an iceberg. Since the success of Seadragon’s Arctic navigation initiatives, Arctic operations have been a crucial part of the missions conducted by nuclear submarines for more than 70 years.
USS Toledo (SSN-769), is a United States Navy, Los Angeles-class nuclear-powered attack submarine and the third U.S. Naval vessel to be named for the city of Toledo, Ohio. The contract to build her was awarded to Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company in Newport News, Virginia, on 10 June 1988, and her keel was laid down on 6 May 1991. She was launched on 28 August 1993, sponsored by Mrs. Sabra Smith, and commissioned on 24 February 1995.
