Military submarines usually passed through arctic areas. It's a common thing for them to travel near ice surfaces. Especially the Russian boats of the Northern Fleet, operate all the time in such areas. So, of course, military submarines can travel under the frozen surface.
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The submarines not only can travel under ice, but they also prefer it for a specific reason. When boats sail under a frozen surface they can't be detected by aircraft, satellites, or sonobuoys that can be dropped into water.
It's also obvious that such operations are more dangerous than ordinary sailing, as submarines are isolated and communications may encounter issues.
The Russian submarines typically operate under ice surfaces for months without surfacing.
But what happens with the submarine that wants to surface through the ice?
That action isn't the easiest task, as according to experts, American submarines need a specific preparation to surface through frozen ice.
Because of that, nuclear submarines search for unfrozen areas to surface. If they can't achieve it, then they can surface through ice up to 2.5m in thickness. The ice-breaking part is done with the help of the compressed air between the boat and the ice.
However, such missions may not result in great success. There are occasions that expensive submarines literally get stuck in the ice!
