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The New Battle for Atlantic: Emerging Naval Competition with Russia in the Far North
In this book, Magnus Nordenman explores the emerging competition between the United States and its NATO allies and the resurgent Russian navy in the North Atlantic. This maritime region played a key role in the two world wars and the Cold War, serving as the strategic link between the United States and Europe that enabled the flow of reinforcements and supplies to the European Allies. Nordenman shows that while a conflict in Europe has never been won in the North Atlantic, it surely could have been lost there.
With Vladimir Putin's Russia threatening the peace in Europe following the annexation of Crimea in 2014, the North Atlantic and other maritime domains around Europe are once again vitally important. But this battle will in many ways be different, Nordenman demonstrates, due to an overstretched U.S. Navy, the rise of disruptive technologies, a beleaguered NATO that woke up to the Russian challenge unprepared for high-end warfighting in the maritime domain, and a Russia commanding a smaller, but more sophisticated, navy equipped with long-range cruise missiles. Nordenman also provides a set of recommendations for what the United States and NATO must do now in order to secure the North Atlantic in this new age of great power competition.
With Vladimir Putin's Russia threatening the peace in Europe following the annexation of Crimea in 2014, the North Atlantic and other maritime domains around Europe are once again vitally important. But this battle will in many ways be different, Nordenman demonstrates, due to an overstretched U.S. Navy, the rise of disruptive technologies, a beleaguered NATO that woke up to the Russian challenge unprepared for high-end warfighting in the maritime domain, and a Russia commanding a smaller, but more sophisticated, navy equipped with long-range cruise missiles. Nordenman also provides a set of recommendations for what the United States and NATO must do now in order to secure the North Atlantic in this new age of great power competition.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published June 15, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 13, 2026
I found this book on a shelf of Navy books in a bookstore on the coast. It is from the Naval Institute Press, published in 2019. I love used bookstores, as I can always find something I never knew existed. The book is meant more for policy folks to help them better understand the history and future of conflict in the North Atlantic. While the author says it isn’t a submarine book, it does spend a lot of time discussing submarines and ASW as a primary task of navies that ring the North Atlantic.
The historical part, from WW1 to WW2, and most of the Cold War, I knew from previous naval history books. From SOSUS nets to ASW patrol aircraft, all of that was very familiar.
What I didn’t know is that NATO has shut down a lot of the SOSUS network over the years. I thought it was still active, as there are still submarines to track in the North Atlantic. I also didn’t realize that many of the European countries sold off their ASW aircraft and didn’t seem to think submarines were an issue any longer.
What is fascinating is reading the book as a historical document, reviewing the thinking of 2019 vs. today, 2026. Some of the future parts are quite accurate, especially around undersea cables and Russia’s desire to cut them before or during a conflict. We see this today with ships dragging anchors and when the Russians were caught earlier this year training their submersibles to set charges to cut cables.
The advent of the Kalibr missile loaded onto submarines did change the calculus for NATO. Russian subs could do stand-off attack, staying hundreds of miles away, causing a lot of headache with regards to ASW tracking. It has been an issue with the war in Ukraine, with the Russians using ships and submarines as Kalibr launch platforms to attack land targets.
It is at the point of the Ukraine war where the book’s future points begin to breakdown. While the book talks about drones, it is mainly surveillance. Ukraine, without a conventional navy, has sunk or damaged just about every Russian Navy ship or submarine of consequence operating in the Black Sea, including the Rostov-na-Donu shown in the book’s picture section. Drones have the ability to dramatically shape naval combat, making large ships quite vulnerable. Quiet submarines have their place, used as platforms for drones operating in dangerous situations. UAVs can operate for long durations over open water, looking for potential threats. It is no longer the game of who has the largest ships, but the most numerous and most varied types of drones that work together to deny areas to their adversaries.
The historical part, from WW1 to WW2, and most of the Cold War, I knew from previous naval history books. From SOSUS nets to ASW patrol aircraft, all of that was very familiar.
What I didn’t know is that NATO has shut down a lot of the SOSUS network over the years. I thought it was still active, as there are still submarines to track in the North Atlantic. I also didn’t realize that many of the European countries sold off their ASW aircraft and didn’t seem to think submarines were an issue any longer.
What is fascinating is reading the book as a historical document, reviewing the thinking of 2019 vs. today, 2026. Some of the future parts are quite accurate, especially around undersea cables and Russia’s desire to cut them before or during a conflict. We see this today with ships dragging anchors and when the Russians were caught earlier this year training their submersibles to set charges to cut cables.
The advent of the Kalibr missile loaded onto submarines did change the calculus for NATO. Russian subs could do stand-off attack, staying hundreds of miles away, causing a lot of headache with regards to ASW tracking. It has been an issue with the war in Ukraine, with the Russians using ships and submarines as Kalibr launch platforms to attack land targets.
It is at the point of the Ukraine war where the book’s future points begin to breakdown. While the book talks about drones, it is mainly surveillance. Ukraine, without a conventional navy, has sunk or damaged just about every Russian Navy ship or submarine of consequence operating in the Black Sea, including the Rostov-na-Donu shown in the book’s picture section. Drones have the ability to dramatically shape naval combat, making large ships quite vulnerable. Quiet submarines have their place, used as platforms for drones operating in dangerous situations. UAVs can operate for long durations over open water, looking for potential threats. It is no longer the game of who has the largest ships, but the most numerous and most varied types of drones that work together to deny areas to their adversaries.
January 25, 2020
A very interesting book about the challenges facing the U.S. and the other NATO allies to protecting the North Atlantic and keeping it open during times of crisis. It tied together much of the recent Russian aggression and the tactics it is using or may use in the future.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews