Trump breaks the previous one by announcing the repositioning of nuclear submarines

President Donald Trump recently broke with decades of strategic silence when he publicly revealed the repositioning of American nuclear submarines in a barely veiled warning to Russia.

The announcement – targeted against the vice -president and former president of the Russian Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, after his last nuclear threats – sent shock waves in the defense world not only for his provocation, but for the fact that he was said aloud.

Presidents have long moved military assets such as aircraft carriers and bombers to report the resolution. But submarines, in particular the secret and nuclear type, are rarely mentioned.

“We rarely speak, if never, of underwater movements unless there was an undeniable accident,” a former naval captain and strategic advisor of the Pentagon told Fox News.

Many other military workers – patriotic batteries, aircraft carrier, same B -52 bombers – are publicly deployed to send a diplomatic message. But this time, the secret nature of the positioning of the nuclear submarine was perhaps the reason for this choice.

“Submarine deployments cannot be verified,” said Moran. “This is what gives them a strategic value, but also what makes this announcement intelligent – if you aim for a title.”

Trump moved nuclear submarines to “appropriate regions” near Russia after provocative comments from former Russia President Dmitry Medvedev. (Getty Images)

Trump confirms that 2 nuclear submarines are “in the region” to counter Russia

Vice-Admiral Mike Connor, a former commander of the American underwater forces, said that Trump’s statement could have looked daring, but was in fact compliant with a long-standing doctrine.

“He didn’t really give it too much,” Fox News Digital in Fox News Digital told Fox News. “It is generally understood, by our potential opponents, that our submarines have been there, have been there for over 60 years and are able to knock about where they want, when they wish, if necessary.”

“It’s a softer message made this way,” added Connor. “It’s not really opposite. It’s just a reminder of what already exists.”

The president was vague to reveal his plans, only announcing that the nuclear submarines would be positioned in the “appropriate regions” following the accusations of Medvedev according to which he degenerated the war. Trump told journalists on Sunday that submarines are “already in the region, where they should be”.

Moran said Trump may have just aligned a routine rotation on a strategic message.

“It costs nothing,” he said. “But if you do it several times, it is starting to reveal where your thresholds are. This has long -term consequences.”

He also questioned the depth of the coordination behind the ad, claiming that “the submarines do not only move on the snap”.

Matthew Shoemaker, a former Defense Intelligence Manager, has echoed at this point.

“It is certainly unusual to announce it from an operational point of view,” he said, “which means that it is mainly a question of sending a message to the Russians rather than trying to achieve a military goal.”

The navy rarely releases the positioning of nuclear submarines, but admitted that the one illustrated above went through the Suez Canal in 2023. (Navy via AP)

Trump reposition 2 nuclear submarines after “highly provocative” Russian comments

Meanwhile, Trump’s frustration towards Putin has increased in recent weeks in the midst of nearest negotiations to end the war, which prompted him to retreat from the deadline for Russia to accept a peace agreement.

Trump disclosure of the underwater presence exerts additional pressure on Russia to come to the negotiating table, according to Bryan Clark, a retired submarine officer and director of the Hudson think tank reflection center for concepts and defense technology.

“We used very sparingly submarines to try to influence the behavior of the opponent before, but it is quite unusual, to do so against an opponent with nuclear propulsion like Russia in response to a nuclear threat by Russia,” Clark told Fox News Digital on Monday. “So I think it tries to mainly repel frequent and long -standing threats from Russia to use nuclear weapons in a part of the Ukrainian conflict.”

Mark CANCIAN, principal advisor to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, believes that it is more likely that two American submarines already deployed have been repositioned rather than new ships sent.

“At any time, there are a dozen American submarines deployed,” he said. “We have probably moved two of them in different places. There was no report of new underwater navigations – you would have heard of this.”

The retired navy Todd Sawhill, who was a targeted expert with joint staff and the US central command, said that there was a precedent to move submarines in response to tensions – but he rarely talked about it openly.

“It is atypical to have a telegraph president so clearly,” said Sawhill. “This is in accordance with Trump’s desire for direct message, so in this sense, it’s not surprising. But this is not that these things are generally done.”

Experts agree that once an American submarine leaves the port, it becomes difficult – but not impossible – for opponents to follow.

“This is very closely controlled information,” said Cancien. “The United States has good confidence that the deployed submarines are not followed-although we were wrong before.”

Shoemaker noted that geography plays an important role. “The closest is closer to the shores of an opponent, the more they can find and follow our submarines,” he said. “It therefore depends on where these submarines are sent near Russia.”

Moran added that the two parties exaggerate their follow -up capacities.

“It is easy to claim that you know where your opponent is,” he said. “But with modern submarines, it’s a very difficult task.”

The positioning of submarines is rarely discussed and more difficult to follow, but adversaries know that they are used in international waters for surveillance and deterrence. (istock)

Connor also underlined a recent case which underlined the power of low-profile submarines.

“A few weeks ago, there was a strike on the manufacturing sites of Iranian nuclear weapons components,” he said. “There was a lot of noise that some Air Force planes stole from the United States and hit two deeply buried targets. And it was more or less a secondary note than a submarine – which knows which or where it was – 30 targets at the same time.”

“This is an ability that is always there, not often used and that doesn’t need to speak too openly to be effective.”

But unlike Iran strikes, it seems unlikely that the submarines sent in response to increased tension with Russia would see the same type of action, according to Clark.

This is because the United States has not intervened directly militarily to support Ukraine, and the places where these submarines operate are not the best suitable for launching attacks on Russian opponents, because cruise missiles would review NATO countries like Romania, said Clark.

“It is unlikely that it is a cruise missile attack that we threaten or even drive,” said Clark. “I think it is much more likely that we will use attack submarines to transmit to the Russians that we can hold their own important targets in danger if they decide to degenerate.”

When asked if Russia could answer with its own maneuvers, Shoemaker was unequivocal: “Yes, almost certainly. Russia regularly and historically likes to make comparable responses to American actions.”

Moran underlined a recent example of 2024: “Russia moved ships near Cuba, and we responded by surfaceing a submarine to Guantanamo Bay. This is a case of operational schedules aligning the possibility of sending a message.”

But such a cat and mouse signaling has risks.

“False steps can be done. Things can be misinterpreted,” warned Moran. “We have already been here.”

Connor agreed that the oceans will remain a failure of silent signaling.

“The two countries have the freedom to operate as they would like in international waters,” he said. “They have done so for decades and will probably continue to do so.”

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This decision seems to be dissuusing in part, partly diplomacy.

Trump “is annoying the reluctance of Russia to seriously negotiate on Ukraine,” said Cancan. “But more importantly, it repels Russia’s nuclear saber – a model that has existed since the start of the war.”