Satellite images show how Russia is winning the race for the Arctic as the US plays catch-up

Russia has spent the past decade turning the Arctic into a strategic stronghold. Meanwhile, the US has fallen behind.As shrinking sea ice opens new shipping routes and access to vast reserves of oil, gas, and critical minerals, the Arctic is emerging as one of the world's fastest-growing arenas of geopolitical competition.Satellite imagery tracks that shift in real time, revealing how Russia has steadily expanded its commercial and military presence while the US works to rebuild capabilities after decades of decline.The contrast is difficult to miss. Between the Yamal Peninsula's LNG terminals, newly expanded Arctic air bases, and the world's largest fleet of icebreakers, the imagery shows how Russia has built an extensive Arctic network.The same imagery shows aging US icebreakers, abandoned military installations in Alaska, and a smaller military footprint in Greenland.Business Insider examined satellite imagery, thermal imaging, shipping data, and military maps to reveal how the balance of power in the Arctic is shifting — and why Washington is racing to narrow the gap before it becomes harder to close. Russia's Arctic coastline stretches about 15,000 miles, giving it a huge geographic incentive to build out the region. Much of Russia's coastline is above the Arctic Circle. Marco Secci/Business Insider This allows Russia to develop ports, energy infrastructure, and shipping routes across a much larger stretch of the Arctic than any other country. Russia has nearly three dozen oil and gas reserves in the Arctic, making the region central to the country's energy exports. Data from the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology released in 2018 shows the locations of oil and gas reserves in northwestern Russia. Marco Secci/Business Insider As sea ice retreats, those resources are becoming easier to reach by ship, and Russia has expanded ports and energy infrastructure to support them. The Yamal Peninsula has become one of the clearest examples of Russia's Arctic energy expansion. Tracking data highlights the routes of tankers sailing near the Yamal Peninsula in September 2025. Starboard Maritime Intelligence Satellite imagery and shipping data show the area transforming into a busy export hub serving the Northern Sea Route. Each white line shown here indicates the path of a tanker sailing near the Yamal Peninsula during September 2025. The peninsula's traffic is largely due to gas plants like this one that Russia and China opened in 2017. Satellites reveal a massive expansion of LNG infrastructure near Sabetta, Russia, between 2009 (left) and 2025 (right). Google | Landsat | Copernicus | Airbus Satellite imagery shows this liquefied natural gas plant, where LNG tankers load cargo before traveling to markets in Europe and Asia. More ships than ever are traveling along the Northern Sea Route, which runs along Russia's Arctic coastline, connecting Europe and Asia. The Northern Sea Route stretches from northwestern Russia to the Bering Strait. Marco Secci/Business Insider According to the Center for High North Logistics, vessels made more than 100 trips across the full route in 2025 carrying over 3 million tonnes of cargo — the highest total on record and a volume that dwarfs the amount transported through North America's Northwest Passage. Helping with that is Russia's fleet of icebreakers, which clear paths through frozen waters for commercial tankers and LNG carriers. Business Insider analyzed dozens of sources to compile the number of vessels in the largest icebreaker fleets worldwide. The vessels vary widely in design and icebreaking ability. Amanda Paule and Marco Secci/Business Insider Russia has the world's largest fleet of icebreakers, operating 42 vessels, including 13 heavy icebreakers capable of clearing thick Arctic ice year-round.The US, by comparison, has a single heavy icebreaker: the Coast Guard's Polar Star. Built in the 1970s, the vessel underwent a $75 million overhaul in 2025 while awaiting a long-delayed replacement. Meanwhile, Russia continues expanding its fleet. A cross-section of the Leningrad icebreaker under construction in 2026, and a satellite view of the same shipyard in 2022. United Shipbuilding Corporation | Google | Vantor | CNES | Airbus Since 2018, it has built eight new heavy icebreakers, including four powered by nuclear reactors. A 2022 satellite image captures two of those vessels under construction at the Baltic Shipyard in St. Petersburg. These ships are part of Russia's Arktika class, and are currently the most powerful icebreakers in the world. Russia revealed a new class of ships designed to be twice as powerful as its current best icebreakers. Satellites show the progress of a new icebreaker hull on March 9, 2022 (left) and May 11, 2026 (right) at the Zvezda shipyard in eastern Russia. Vantor The first ship of its new "Leader" class is projected to cost $2.7 billion. Business Insider acquired a 2026 satellite image from Vantor to track construction progress of the vessel. Though originally planned for delivery by 2027, it's now expected in 2030 or later due to supply-chain interruptions from the war in Ukraine. Russia's military buildup is just as visible from space. Russia's military activity in the Arctic is concentrated at these five locations that span its northern coast. Amanda Paule and Marco Secci/Business Insider Since the 2010s, the country has expanded military bases across the Arctic, particularly on the Kola Peninsula, home to submarine bases, ports, and airfields designed to project power across Europe and the Arctic.Russia's Ushakovskoye facility on Wrangel Island is just 300 miles from the Alaskan coast. This is a satellite image of a Russian submarine on the Kola Peninsula in 2022. Satellite image of a submarine docked at Severomorsk, the headquarters of Russia's Northern Fleet. Google | Vantor Analysts identify this as a nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine at a naval base near Murmansk, the country's largest military hub in the Arctic. Just beyond the submarine base, satellite imagery shows upgrades to a nearby air base. Satellite images from 2012 (left) and 2019 (right) show Russia's Severomorsk-1 airstrip before and after construction. Google | Vantor Since 2012, the air base has been significantly upgraded with new taxiways and expanded parking aprons. Analysts identified Tu-142 maritime patrol aircraft and Sukhoi fighters on the runway. As Russia expands its Arctic presence, the US's side of the story is largely one of decline. Alaska's northern coast falls within the Arctic Circle. Marco Secci/Business Insider Despite its Arctic territory in Alaska, the US has never operated a military base on its own soil within the Arctic Circle. During World War II, the US built roughly 300 military installations across Alaska, including several bases in the Aleutian Islands, a chain of volcanic islands in southwestern Alaska. The US Navy built out the military base on Adak Island, Alaska after the US Army opened it during World War II. Google | Copernicus | Airbus Many of those bases have since been abandoned, leaving behind deteriorating runways, overgrown buildings, and empty airfields.Shown here is a US Navy base on Adak Island, part of the Aleutian Islands, that closed in 1997. Some US officials have since proposed reopening it to help counter growing Russian and Chinese activity in the North Pacific and Bering Sea. Today, the only permanent US military presence in the Aleutian Islands is Eareckson Air Station and a Coast Guard unit equipped with just one cutter at any given time. The radar at Eareckson Air Station is located on the northwest coast of Shemya Island, Alaska. Google | Copernicus | Airbus Eareckson Air Station's primary mission is operating a long-range radar that helps monitor incoming threats, including ballistic missiles."It's really something of a mystery why the US has long neglected our Arctic territory, which is virtually only Alaska," Kenneth Rosen, author of "Polar War," told Business Insider. "In order to project sovereignty in a region that we possess that is part of our country, we need to have a presence. And one security cutter in the Bering Sea for all of Alaska is a joke." The pattern extends beyond Alaska. Across the Arctic, another cornerstone of America's World War II and Cold War presence has steadily shrunk: Greenland. Data from the book "Americans In Greenland in World War Two" by Ole Guldager shows former US military sites in Greenland. Marco Secci/Business Insider At one point during World War II, the US around 20 military installations across Greenland, including four airfields that served as refueling stops for aircraft bound for Europe. Today, only one permanent US military installation remains. Bluie East Two, an abandoned US air base in eastern Greenland, offers a stark reminder of America's shrinking Arctic footprint. Rusting fuel barrels at the former Bluie East Two airfield are visible from space. Vantor | Getty The rust-colored smudges in this satellite image are thousands of fuel barrels left behind after the base was abandoned in the 1950s. Satellite imagery of another airfield — Bluie West Four — shows how little remains of the former US airstrip. Bluie West Four was a minor airfield that the US abandoned after World War II. Google | Airbus | IBCAO Decades after it was abandoned, there's barely a trace of the runway. Investigators reported that the site still smells from fuel contamination. Pituffik Space Base is now the only permanent US military installation in Greenland. Satellite of Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland. Google | Vantor Expanded during the 1950s as a Cold War outpost for long-range bombers, the base now focuses on missile defense and radar surveillance. Once home to about 10,000 people during the Cold War, the installation now has a permanent population of about 650. The US has begun responding. A 2024 Department of Defense report acknowledged the lack of investment in the Arctic. Satellite of the shipyard in Galveston, Texas, formerly owned by Gulf Copper. Google Later that year the US joined Canada and Finland in an agreement to expand icebreaker construction.Defense contractor Davie Defense is spending $1 billion to transform two shipyard in Texas, including the one shown here, into an icebreaker production facility to rival Russia's Baltic Shipyard, the country's primary shipbuilding center for Arctic icebreakers. The competition doesn't end with Russia. China has also been steadily expanding its Arctic presence through investments, shipping, and military cooperation. Satellite of the former Danish naval base in Kangilinnguit, Greenland, opened by the US Navy during World War II. Google | Airbus Chinese companies have spent the past decade attempting to purchase airports, invest in infrastructure, and help develop mining projects across the Arctic region.In Greenland, for example, Chinese investors attempted to purchase the abandoned Danish naval base, shown here, but the proposal was blocked by both Denmark and the United States.China has also deepened its partnership with Russia. Since 2018, the two countries have conducted joint military exercises and naval patrols, including operations near Alaska. The Arctic may still look frozen from above, but the satellite imagery shows one of the world's fastest-changing geopolitical frontiers. Satellite image of the Earth centered on the North Pole during the summer solstice. Planet Observer/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Read next Jessica Orwig is a senior editor at Business Insider, where she collaborates with reporters, editors, and producers across teams to shape, write, edit, and publish stories that connect with a global audience. While her roots are in science and technology journalism, her work today spans business, careers, culture, and the big ideas shaping the future.She earned her Master’s in Science & Technology Journalism from Texas A&M University and holds a Bachelor’s in Astronomy & Physics from The Ohio State University. 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