As the globe warms Arctic ice retracts, turning the frozen Siberian coastline into the worlds next great shipping lane. Ships transiting the Northern Sea Route (NSR) from Shanghai to Copenhagen travel only 1/3rd of the old distance, and avoid strategic bottlenecks like the Suez Canal and strait of Gibraltar. It is in this new, thawing theatre that the Russian President and MoD see an avenue of restoring national pride, a theatre which most in the west feel comfortable cropping out of their maps. Investments and military constructions are initiated turning this barren sea lane into an arctic kill-zone, emboldening the Russian parliament to declare that their laws regarding this new waterway supersede the United Nations Law of the Sea. In response, the U.S. President and Canadian Prime Ministers decide to challenge Russia’s claims in the region.
In Showcase: Icebreakers it's up to you to lead a Freedom of Navigation operation in one of the most inhospitable climates on earth, the Arctic circle. Leading the fleet is the Polar Star, an icebreaker capable of plowing through the sheets of sea ice. Following behind her are several allied surface action groups including Zumwalt and Arleigh Burke Destroyers, along with Harry DeWolf patrol ships, and more. While there is no carrier as a part of the fleet, you will have the support of Air Force units stationed in Alaska.
Information is ammunition, and with Russian satellites active you will need all the help you can get to control the flow of information. US CYBERCOM has prepared an attack package code named “Widowmaker" which will help deal with the Russian satellites.
War has not been declared, but hostilities could begin at any moment. The Russian response to your actions will dynamically change according to the level of hostility you display. This is made possible by our new "Road to War" script that models gradual escalations from harassment and skirmishing, to outright warfare.
Good luck Commander, control of this new sea lane is crucial.