The United States is eyeing a long-forgotten outpost for a dramatic comeback—this time, in the icy expanse of the Arctic.
Adak Island, a remote and storm-battered former Navy base in Alaska, has suddenly found itself back in the spotlight. Once left to the ravages of time, unexploded ordnance, and brutal winter squalls, Adak may soon be reborn as a strategic hub to check growing Russian and Chinese ambitions in the region.
According to a report by ‘Task & Purpose’– an American online publication, the Pentagon is seriously considering resurrecting the island as a frontline military base in the new geopolitical race for the Arctic.
A Ghost Base With Geopolitical Gold
Adak Island, once a Cold War sentinel and now a windswept ghost town, is quietly regaining strategic attention.
Located at the western tip of Alaska’s Aleutian chain, Adak is the southernmost town in America’s northernmost state and the westernmost municipality in the United States.
Its geography is striking—it lies about 1,200 miles southwest of Anchorage and roughly equidistant between the US and Russian mainlands.
Originally home to the Indigenous Unangan people, Adak’s military significance began during World War II, when it became a key US outpost after Japan invaded the nearby Aleutian islands of Attu and Kiska.
Fortified against Japanese advances and later repurposed during the Cold War, Adak served as a crucial node in tracking Soviet submarines prowling the North Pacific’s icy depths. At its peak, the island was home to a US Navy base and a population of approximately 6,000.
However, after the fall of the Soviet Union, Adak’s military significance waned. The base was shuttered in 1993, and operations ceased entirely by 1997.
The population, once bustling with families, schoolchildren, and even a McDonald’s, dwindled. By 2023, only about 154 residents remained—many working in commercial fish processing—surrounded by relics of a bygone era, including abandoned housing and a frozen-in-time drive-through menu.
Despite its desolation, Adak still holds strategic value.
As US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo recently told the Senate Armed Services Committee, Adak’s location offers the US “time and distance” against potential threats seeking to breach American defenses from the Arctic.
Why Adak, Why Now?
As global warming melts Arctic sea ice, the region is rapidly opening up to new trade routes and access to coveted natural resources—oil, gas, and rare minerals.
This environmental shift has triggered a new geopolitical race for control of the far north. While much of the focus has been on the South China Sea and Taiwan, American military planners are now looking north, and Adak is back on the radar.
Strategically located about 1,200 miles southwest of Anchorage and roughly halfway between the US and Russia, Adak sits directly along the Great Circle Route—an increasingly vital maritime pathway used frequently by Russia’s Pacific Fleet.
Three senior U.S. military leaders, including Admiral Samuel Paparo, Commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, have voiced support for reviving the base as part of a broader Arctic strategy.
Alaska Senator Dan Sullivan has been one of the loudest voices pushing for Adak’s reactivation. He calls it “the gateway to the Arctic,” emphasizing its proximity—nearly 1,000 miles west of Hawaii—and its ability to vastly extend maritime patrol coverage, potentially tenfold. That’s crucial in a region where current operations often require 1,000-mile flights and in-air refueling.
Despite sitting idle for over two decades, the base remains remarkably intact: two 8,000-foot runways capable of handling any aircraft in the US arsenal (including B-52s), three piers, a massive hangar, and 22 million gallons of fuel storage. Entire neighborhoods of abandoned but standing housing still line the island, looking eerily preserved.
The Navy is currently evaluating two options for Adak’s reactivation: from minimal upgrades for emergency use to a full-scale reestablishment of a permanent naval presence. While military officials are keeping details close to the chest, the island’s potential is drawing serious attention from the Pentagon.
The New Cold Front
In recent years, the US has begun reasserting its presence across the Pacific with renewed military activity on islands like Palau and Tinian, aiming to counter Chinese expansion.
Adak may now be poised to serve a similar role in the Arctic, guarding the northern flank as both Russia and China eye influence in this emerging theater of competition.
A Cold War outpost frozen in time may soon become a 21st-century stronghold. And once again, the windswept island of Adak could find itself on the frontlines of a very modern struggle for control over the top of the world.
- Shubhangi Palve is a defense and aerospace journalist. Before joining the EurAsian Times, she worked for ET Prime. She has over 15 years of extensive experience in the media industry, spanning print, electronic, and online domains.
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