Norway: Russia has sent 10 submarines towards the US, to send the message it can.

(Oslo) The Norwegian state broadcaster has reported that the Russian northern fleet has dispatched 10 submarines of which 8 are nuclear powered towards the US East Coast in which to send the message to Washington that they can reach the US, in the largest Russian submarine operation since the early 1990s and the Cold War days.

NATO said to be tracking at least 10 Russian subs from Northern Fleet. Allegedly intended to demonstrate capability to break through GIUK-gap toward US east-coast https://t.co/qZYrYUFk4z

Coincides with ongoing STRATCOM Global Thunder exercise. pic.twitter.com/BeiFvhb0nZ

— Hans Kristensen (@nukestrat) October 29, 2019

The goal for some of these submarines is to get as far out into the Atlantic as possible without being discovered.  Which is why the submarines since departing their Northern Fleet bases in the Murmansk region has been submerged.This kind of explains the recent heightened activities at Andøya airforce base in Norway with the Norwegians able to state with some confidence that they currently know of the locations of at least 7 of the submarines

• Two nuclear submarines are located west of Bear Island, which lies between Svalbard and the Finnmark (Northern Norwegian)  coast. 
• Two Submarines are located south and east of Bear Island, and are positioned there to guard the entrance to the eastern Barents Sea. 
• Two Sierra-class nuclear submarines are also participating in the northern Norwegian Sea, primarily to test how suitable they are to operate in deep water, and to test new weapons in the Norwegian Sea region.

Norwegian intelligence has informed the media that Russia's goal is to show that they are able to threaten the US east coast - by getting as far out into the Atlantic as possible. This means that they must pass the so-called GIUK gap, which is the line between the UK, Iceland and Greenland. 

The ultimate goal for parts of the operation is to come west of Greenland. With the Norwegians stating:

Russia wants to say that "this is our sea", we can do this. We are able to reach the United States. They are what Russia wants to tell us. They want to test the West's ability to detect and handle this.

Norwegian Defence Minister Frank Bakke-Jensen speaking to the press stated:

 The submarine operation to Russia is no surprise. This fits in with the trend we have seen with increased Russian activity. We see a Russia that has modernised its military forces and is increasingly practising and operating near Norway

The submarine operation that is now taking place is probably politically determined at the highest level, this is not a decision made by the Navy,