Sullivan tackles Arctic security, oversees largest Alaska military expansion since WWII

Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) Subcommittee on Readiness and the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Coast Guard, Maritime, and Fisheries, chaired two hearings earlier this month, focused on strengthening U.S. military readiness and advancing critical investments in Arctic security infrastructure in Alaska.

The first hearing, a field hearing held at the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA), examined the urgent need to strengthen America’s Arctic infrastructure and maritime capabilities. Expert witnesses—including the former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff—are pushing for urgent, large-scale infrastructure investments in Alaska, deemed the epicenter of modern homeland security. Key priorities include expanding the Port of Nome into a deep-water hub, reopening the Adak naval base, and expanding the icebreaker fleet to support Coast Guard operations, and closing America’s icebreaker gap by building 16 new icebreakers, some of which could be homeported in Alaska. These projects are part of the largest military expansion in the state since WWII, reflecting a strategic response to increasing Arctic competition.

Sen. Sullivan also chaired a Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support hearing examining the current readiness of the Joint Force. During the hearing, Sullivan and senior military leaders discussed the state of U.S. force readiness, the need to strengthen America’s munitions stockpiles and defense industrial base, and the growing threats posed by America’s adversaries, such as China and Russia.

Senator Sullivan used both hearings to highlight Alaska’s strategic significance, calling for sustained investments in military infrastructure to bolster the U.S. position in the Arctic. Sullivan maintained his long-standing position that the Arctic must no longer be considered a strategic backwater, urging a more robust regional posture.

This point was emphasized by the recent incursion of two Russian TU-142 “Bear” bombers into the Alaska and Canadian Air Defense Identification Zones (ADIZ) that were intercepted by Alaska-based F-35s, AWACS, tanker aircraft, and later F-22s out of Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson.

Witnesses at both hearings highlighted that aerial incursions are now the "new normal," justifying the largest expansion of U.S. military infrastructure in Alaska since World War II. These billions in investments are crucial, Senator Sullivan said in a press release, for bolstering homeland defense and projecting power across the Arctic and Indo-Pacific regions.