A submarine smashing it’s way through Arctic ice is certainly impressive from the outside, but what’s happening below the surface?

The Navy posted the above video showing an animation of the Los Angeles-class fast attack submarine Hartford’s surfacing in the Arctic Ocean last week for Ice Exercise 2018, or ICEX. Superimposed on the animation is a live-action view of inside the Hartford as it surfaces.

It’s a tense moment to be sure, but professionals make it look like an easy, almost everyday occurrence.

But surfacing submarines aren’t the only thing happening at ICEX. The Hartford was joined by the Seawolf-class fast attack submarine Connecticut and the Royal Navy’s Trafalgar-class submarine HMS Trenchant. The crews have set up Ice Camp Skate, a temporary camp built on a sheet of ice.





Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine USS Hartford SSN 768 surfaces through the ice March 9, 2018 in support of Ice Exercise (ICEX) 2018. (Mass Communication 2nd Class Micheal H. Lee/Navy)

Snowmobiles sit idle at Ice Camp Skate March 9, 2018 in support of Ice Exercise (ICEX) 2018. (Mass Communication 2nd Class Micheal H. Lee/Navy)

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Members of Ice Camp Skate load cargo into a plane March 9, 2018 in support of Ice Exercise (ICEX) 2018. (Mass Communication 2nd Class Micheal H. Lee/Navy)

Ice Camp Skate as the aurora borealis displays above camp March 9, 2018 in support of Ice Exercise (ICEX) 2018. (Mass Communication 2nd Class Micheal H. Lee/Navy)

Members of Ice Camp Skate drill a hole in the ice March 9, 2018 in support of Ice Exercise (ICEX) 2018. (Mass Communication 2nd Class Micheal H. Lee/Navy)

Members of Ice Camp Skate shovel snow March 9, 2018 in support of Ice Exercise (ICEX) 2018. (Mass Communication 2nd Class Micheal H. Lee/Navy)

A sailor assigned to Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine USS Hartford SSN 768 mans the sail after it surfaced through the ice cover March 9, 2018 in support of Ice Exercise (ICEX) 2018. (Mass Communication 2nd Class Micheal H. Lee/Navy)