US attack submarine reaches Guantanamo after Russia sends warships to Cuba

US News

From Ronny Reyes

A day after a Russian fleet, including one of the country’s most modern nuclear submarines, docked in Havana, an American fast attack submarine entered Cuba, the U.S. Navy said.

The USS Helena, a Los Angeles-class nuclear-powered submarine, arrived at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on Thursday as part of a scheduled port visit, the U.S. Southern Command said.

“The fast attack submarine USS Helena is in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on a routine port visit while transiting the U.S. Southern Command area of ​​geographic responsibility as part of its global maritime security and homeland defense mission,” SOUTHCOM said in a statement.

The arrival of the Cold War-era hunting and killing submarine follows Russia’s decision a day earlier to send a frigate, a nuclear submarine, an oil tanker and a rescue tug to Cuba to conduct military exercises in the Atlantic.

Of greatest interest to the United States is the presence of the Kazan, a Yasen-class cruise missile submarine equipped with Zircon hypersonic missiles that can reportedly travel at nine times the speed of sound.

The missiles, which can be equipped with nuclear warheads, have a range of 1,000 kilometers and are designed to overwhelm air defenses with their speed.

SOUTHCOM said the USS Helena’s visit was planned in advance, suggesting it was not deployed in response to the arrival of the Russian fleet.

Defense officials said the Russian ships were being closely monitored.

The USS Helena is a Los Angeles-class fast attack submarine launched in 1986.

The 360-foot-long nuclear-powered vessel is armed with Tomahawk cruise missiles and MK48 torpedoes and can travel at speeds of nearly 29 miles per hour, according to the Submarine Industrial Base Council.

In contrast, the Kazan is one of the Russian Navy’s newest weapons and was commissioned in 2021.

The Kremlin ship is almost 460 feet long and, according to the US military, has a top speed of around 23 miles per hour.

Yasen-class submarines can carry between 85 and 64 crew members, while Los Angeles-class ships can carry 143 personnel.

Representatives of the United States and Cuba stated that although the submarine was nuclear-powered, it did not carry any nuclear weapons on board.

American officials added that they expect the Kazan and its entourage to remain in the region over the summer, with a possible stopover in Venezuela planned.

Since 2008, Russian ships and submarines have been anchored in Havana as part of Russian military exercises.