The United States Coast Guard will station its new Arctic Security Cutters (ASC) closer to where the next-generation medium icebreakers will operate. Finland’s Rauma Marine Constructions will deliver the first two ASCs by 2028 and their homeport will be in Alaska — the first time the Coast Guard will base its Arctic vessels in the state.
The U.S.’s current icebreaker fleet is based at Coast Guard Base Seattle in Washington state, according to the Stars and Stripes newspaper. Basing the ASCs in Alaska highlights how the Arctic has become a “front line of strategic competition” as Chinese and Russian forces expand their presence in the region, the Atlantic Council, a U.S.-based think tank, reported in February 2026.
“By strategically positioning these state-of-the-art icebreakers in Alaska, the Coast Guard will maximize our ability to defend our northern border and approaches, while reinforcing America’s maritime dominance in a crucial region of strategic importance,” Adm. Kevin Lunday, commandant of the Coast Guard, stated in April 2026.
The U.S. Navy sends submarines under the Arctic ice but doesn’t operate icebreakers, which is the Coast Guard’s mission. The Coast Guard is conducting a sweeping expansion of its Arctic fleet after the U.S. Congress approved nearly $9 billion for medium and heavy icebreakers.
The operational U.S. open-ocean fleet consists of the heavy icebreaker USCGC Polar Star, and the medium icebreakers USCGC Healy and USCGC Storis. The Coast Guard plans to build 11 ASCs through contracts with Rauma Marine and two U.S. companies, Bollinger Shipyards and Davie Defense, according to Stars and Stripes. The Coast Guard also is procuring three new heavy icebreakers, known as Polar Security Cutters (PSC). Bollinger plans to deliver the first PSC in 2030, according to The National Interest defense journal.
The ASC and PSC programs are crucial for maintaining U.S. sovereignty in the Arctic, officials say. “We need more icebreakers to be present in our waters and be clear what is our waters,” U.S. Coast Guard Capt. Corey Kerns, commander of the Storis, told the Alaska Beacon newspaper in November 2025.
The Coast Guard has not announced where the first two ASCs will be based in Alaska. The service is investing $300 million for port improvements in Juneau to accommodate the Storis, according to The Maritime Executive, an industry publication. The Coast Guard commissioned the Storis, a former oil company vessel it bought and modernized, in August 2025.
“Homeporting these two Arctic Security Cutters in Alaska is a decisive step forward in securing America’s Arctic frontier,” U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin stated.
Sentry is a professional military magazine published by U.S. Strategic Command to provide a forum for national security personnel.
