"Iranian Speedboats 'Harass' U.S. Navy Destroyer In..." Topic

…The Strait Of Hormuz.

"Four vessels from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) "harassed" a U.S. destroyer on Tuesday by carrying out a "high speed intercept" in the vicinity of the Strait of Hormuz, a U.S. defense official said on Wednesday.

The official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said two of the Iranian vessels came within 300 yards of the USS Nitze in an incident that was "unsafe and unprofessional."

"The Iranian high rate of closure…created a dangerous, harassing situation that could have led to further escalation including additional defensive measures by Nitze," the official said…"
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Amicalement
Armand

Slow news day

Yeah … them Persians … What a Hoot ! It's all fun and gaming. Until a US naval vessel blows a few of those IRGC little boats to pieces. And then the "wringing of hands & gnashing of teeth" will begin.

"unsafe and unprofessional."

That would describe many of the Arab/moslem forces in the region. Remember Iranians/Persians and Turks are not considered Arabs. So I just wanted to cover all the players involved … Wouldn't want to hurt any feelings because some may feel they were left out …

They were making practice missile runs on US ships.

This allows them to better understand how the US will react and the response times for support to arrive.

US defense doctrine is to engage enemies at 5 miles distance, yet they are allowing FIAC -fast inshore attack craft to get within 300 yards. This range guarantees successful missile strikes by the Iranians.
Eventually, some US ships are going to be attacked for real and will be burning before they can even react.

I repeat this. When the Iranians do this for real, they will attack with hundreds of speedboats and Boghammars armed with missiles. The US doesn't have the capability to stop them all.

And what exactly do the Iranians gain form such an action?

Propaganda…? (smile)

Amicalement
Armand

Yep, Tango01 for the win.

If American ships are hit by missiles in Hormuz.. an area covered by a lot of of surveillance, then there's not much chance of deniability.

So the RG gets the warm fuzzies briefly and Iran gets bombed to a fine dust.

Given the RG aren't stupid then I fail to see the risk.

Obviously they're using the USN as a training resource but it's not like the Americans don't do the same when the opportunity arises.

Well, they have acted stupidly in the past, so……

With Turkish army in Syria, along with Russian forces, Iranian "fighters" and various pro/anti Syrian gov't forces, Kurds, US troops and air power and whomever else. Even if it's saber rattling, there will be human error/intention one day, and somebodies missiles will be let loose, and I guess we will have lots to talk about then.

Can't think of the last time the Iranians did something stupid. Since 9/11 TBH they've played a blinder.

Jammerman is right there's a prospect of human error, but that's true whenever militaries do this kind of thing.

And they do all do it.

I'm pretty sure this was a recon / probing attack to gauge the US Navy response times and countermeasures. Now they know how close they can get before we fire warning shots. I'd say mission accomplished and the boat captains are in Tehran getitng some medals.

The Egyptians pulled the same thing on the lead up to the Yom Kipur war. The attackers have the clear initiative in this situation. Those four boats could have easily fired ATGM's to take out the sensors and fire control leaving it defenseless for some OTH missile shots.

Don't underestimate the Irianians, especially before January 2017. The Europeans are doing business with them big time and will pressure the US not to take any decisive action if something does happen.

Of course I'm sure Airbus would not mind if we shot down another Irianian jumbo jet.

Wolfhag

What's more, to send hundreds at once undetected is next to impossible, which means they will get a reaction before the "standard" distance which may or may not be what you state.

Terrement,
Why would they have to hide their movements? They will just sail out from multiple Iranian sea bases. What would the USN do?

This is exactly Iran's naval strategy for combatting US naval power in the Gulf. Overwhelm through cheap massed boats that cannot be effectively countered with technology or air power. This was developed after Reagan's punitive strikes against Iran which destroyed traditional naval assets.

US wargames Millennium Challenge in 2002 lost their fleet of 14 warships to small boat swarming tactics.

Folks, I'm not making this up. I'm stating existing Iranian naval battle doctrine plus the difficulties US forces would face against them.

Yes, I think the Persians are trying to push it as far as they can. For home consumption … Plus and more importantly as cw and Wolfhag pointed out … they're "counting guns", testing reaction times, etc., …

I doubt any actions beyond firing warning shots will occur. Not for the next few months anyway …

Is there any $$$$ left that the US can pay them to stop doing it ?

The Chinese, Iranian, Russian alliance is pushing forward on all fronts.

1988 – Operation Preying Mantis, Bangor.

link

Yep, as CW points out, the Iranians have significantly increased their small naval forces, and seem to be very emboldened to the point of recklessness, again.

Of course, they have a very weak air force, so would be very vulnerable to USAF and USN aircraft, not to mention all those lovely cruise missiles we own.

I hope they don't believe their own propaganda too much, but that if they are stupid enough to attack US forces, the blowback is substantial, to the point of a "regime change" in Iran, and an elimination, or severe degradation of their war fighting ability.

Then again, something else for the enemies of Iran to consider: link

A precedence has been set. Iranian vessels may now aggressively maneuver to within 300 yards of a US Naval ship in international waters. This is what happens when you project weakness around the world.

A good thing that tsunami's pointed away from the seaside town and nuke plant, and not towards it, I guess. LOL………

And of course the US navy fired three warning shots from a 50 cal.

Which with the current political/geopolitical situation, .50s may be the largest weapons use. Regardless, they would still do some damage to the IRGC speed boats.

.50 cals will chew thru cinder block bricks.
The latest report has the IRGC closing to 200 yards. Well within M2 .50 cal range [6800m IIRC].

Regardless, the USN & USAF if it comes down to it should be able to handle anything the Iranians can throw at the US. And yes, they could swarm their speed boats. But remember the IDF airstrikes that took out the arab air forces in '67. While most were on the ground.

If the US destroyed the boats closing and harassing the USN. The US would attack the Iranian speed boat locations before or as they are deploying. Plus the Iranian AF would be no match for the USN & USAF. As soon as their aircraft crossed into International water. They'd be "splashed".

And I'm pretty sure any of Iran's ADA would be taken care of before they could really do anything. SEADS is SOP for the US Military.
I think the Iranians know all this. And they are taking advantage of the USA's current political situation. At least for the next few months.

If the US destroyed the boats closing and harassing the USN. The US would attack the Iranian speed boat locations before or as they are deploying. Plus the Iranian AF would be no match for the USN & USAF.

Part of their strategy is dispersal of their speedboats. Yes, the US can destroy their naval ports, but these boats can be parked on beaches or hidden among fishing boats and islands. I think their numbers are in excess of 6,000. During a real assault, Iran will be launching Chinese-made ship killers from traditional ships and hidden onshore batteries. That woukd be overwhelming for shipboard defense to handle.

It would take a lot of resources and ordnance to waste to hunt down speedboats. All the Iranians need is to get a few close enough to hit US ships to launch their missiles.

Also, this kind of naval threat isn't just to intimidate the US, it is meant to dominate the entire Gulf region.

I understand … but my $$$$ is still on the USN & USAF. And yes, It may become "messy". And it is well known the Iranians want to dominate the region. But there are a number of other players in the area that may not let that happen.

I don't think that Iran would win a war, oh no. …but they could definitely do a "Pearl Harbor" on US Naval forces in the Gulf and cause global chaos. And there is nothing the US could do to prevent that.

The IRGC operates independently from the rest of Iran, and radical forces actually think they can win against the US. They are itching for a Holy War, and even the leaders of Iran have trouble reigning them in.

Yes it has been said, that the Iranian leadership is letting the IRGC again play their own game. As they were upset with the deals the leadership is making with the USA. As opposed to "itching for a Holy War".

That is the problem with some/many islamists … they don't care if they or anyone else dies. Just so they can kill the infidel and go to "paradise". That makes them particularly dangerous. We might actually be doing the Iranian leadership a favor "relieving them of these troublesome jihadists" …

If a .50cal is all that is required to signal that patience is running thin, why fire something bigger?

As I said, a .50 cal. will chew thru a cinder block brick. So if need be that is all that probably will be used …

Sounds like we may need a few more cluster bombs in the inventory, and/or FAEs.

Those'll ruin your day, whether on the beaches, or on the water.

Well I was talking about on the speed boats. But against harbors, ports, ADA locations, larger boats and ships, etc. … Then yes, CBUs, FAEs, JDAMs, etc., would be useful …