ABSTRACT
For the last several years there has been growing discussion in the United States on the evolution of US naval strategy. In the United States, the deliberations that culminated in the Maritime Strategy are dated at least to 1979, when senior leaders of the US Navy, concerned by the naval policies of the Carter Administration, sought to provoke discussion on the future of the Navy. The adoption of the Maritime Strategy by the United States is clearly a development of great significance for northern Europe, for it ensures that this region will be prominent in the military confrontation between the superpowers. The process of transformation got underway in the mid-1960s as the Soviets embarked on a major naval modernisation campaign. While the improvement in the Soviet Navy did not pass unnoticed in the United States, what really drew the attention of the US Navy northward was the emergence and growth of the Soviet strategic submarine force.
