An official with the Navy, which tracks Russian submarine activity, was quoted as saying "a very small number" of such patrols had been detected thus far in 2003, after a year in which not a single sub left port.

Russia's strategic submarine activity has declined steadily from its peak during the Cold War when Soviet submarines prowled the Caribbean Sea, prepared to launch nuclear-tipped missiles at the United States, the Post said.

The US Navy counted 37 Russian submarine patrols in 1991, 19 in 1993, one in 2001 and none in 2002 -- a pause likely influenced by the accidental sinking of Russia's nuclear-powered Kursk submarine in 2000, which killed the entire crew.

The gradual decline in Russian submarine activity suggests that "they have simply run out of resources and decided to prioritize them elsewhere," said Hans Kristensen of the Natural Resources Defense Council.

The United States, by contrast, has a fleet of 18 Trident strategic ballistic missile submarines that carries out 50 patrols a year, each lasting several months, the Post said.

"We have not changed our strategy," Bruce Blair of the Center for Defense Information told the Post. "We are still Pearl Harbor-oriented, surmise a surprise attack and need survivable nuclear submarines."

WAR.WIRE