US officials confirms Russian submarine entered Gulf of Mexico undetected, operating for weeks

A Russian attack submarine, armed with long-range cruise missiles, operated undetected in the Gulf of Mexico for several weeks completely undetected by the US, the Washington Free Beacon has learned.

photo/Paramount Pictures

It is only the second time since 2009 that a Russian attack submarine has patrolled so close to U.S. shores.

During June and July Russian coordinated strategic bombers over US airspace in Alaska, California and infringed on the waters off of Florida.

 U.S. officials said deficiencies in U.S. anti-submarine warfare capabilities were exposed and increases the concerns over facing cuts under the Obama administration’s plan to reduce defense spending by $487 billion over the next 10 years.

The Akula was not detected and should be cause for concern, US officials stated.

The officials who are familiar with reports of the submarine patrol in the Gulf of Mexico said the vessel was a nuclear-powered Akula-class attack submarine, one of Russia’s quietest submarines.

A Navy spokeswoman declined to comment.

One official said the Akula operated without being detected for a month.

“The Akula was built for one reason and one reason only: To kill U.S. Navy ballistic missile submarines and their crews,” said a second U.S. official.

“It’s a very stealthy boat so it can sneak around and avoid detection and hope to get past any protective screen a boomer might have in place,” the official said, referring to the Navy nickname for strategic missile submarines.

“Sending a nuclear-propelled submarine into the Gulf of Mexico-Caribbean region is another manifestation of President Putin demonstrating that Russia is still a player on the world’s political-military stage,” said naval analyst and submarine warfare specialist Norman Polmar.