European members of NATO are getting ready to handle a big job on their own: tracking Russian nuclear submarines.

For a long time, the United States has led the way in keeping an eye on these powerful underwater vessels. Now, as the U.S. role in European defense seems to be shifting, other NATO countries are stepping up. For the first time ever, the alliance held military exercises to practice hunting these submarines without any help from American forces.

Why the worry? Russia has been updating its submarine fleet, making their boats faster and harder to find. These submarines are very quiet and carry heavy weapons, which makes them a major concern for European security.

Beyond just practicing, NATO is already taking action. The alliance reports that they are currently following Russian ships moving through the Mediterranean Sea. This shows that even without the U.S. at the helm, the alliance is working hard to keep track of Russian movements.

Leaders are concerned that if America stays in the background, the rest of the alliance needs to be much better at detecting and stopping threats on their own. These recent drills are a sign that European nations are serious about closing that gap and protecting their waters without depending on someone else to do the heavy lifting.

Source: politico.com