Posted on 04/22/2020 9:40:46 AM PDT by USA Conservative
Nearly a dozen Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy vessels sailed out Wednesday to harass a collection of US Navy and Coast Guard vessels conducting operations in international waters, the US 5th Fleet said in a statement accompanied by a collection of photos.
At the time of the incident, the Navy expeditionary mobile base vessel USS Lewis B. Puller, the destroyer USS Paul Hamilton, and patrol ships USS Firebolt and USS Sirocco, together with the Coast Guard cutters USCGC Wrangell and USCGC Maui, were carrying out joint operations with Army AH-64E Apache attack helicopters in the Persian Gulf.
Trump decided to respond.
The President said he authorized the US Navy to “destroy” any Iranian gunboats if they hound American vessels.
“I have instructed the United States Navy to shoot down and destroy any and all Iranian gunboats if they harass our ships at sea,” the president said in a tweet on Wednesday, without providing more details.
Demonstrative video filmed during several military exercises shows how the US Navy would react to the famous Iranian fast-attack boats also known under the name fast attack crafts.
The reaction comes via the greetings of MK 38 M242 Bushmaster canons, M2 machine guns, and close-in weapon systems.
Video below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFKGFHH2L6o&feature=emb_title
Another video that confirms the U.S. naval power:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-0sC3wSg-w&feature=emb_title
The US ships had been conducting military exercises in that section of the Persian Gulf.
Tensions have been elevated in the Persian Gulf region since last year after Iran attacked a Saudi oil installation, shot down a US surveillance drone, and boarded several international ships.
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They would send a swarm of small boats at us and treat it as a kamikaze mission.
Which argues against small-caliber fire. Just one, large, smart shell should do the trick, right?
Damage control is not just putting out the fire. It's also restoring combat effectiveness, and electronics do not respond well to massive overpressures.
The Navy is fixed on "radar returns are targets". If they ain't got a return, it ain't there.
A few years ago, I watched a program about Pearl Harbor. A destroyer, the USS Ward sighted a mini submarine and immediately hit it’s small conning tower and sunk it.
The Captain’s story was widely disbelieved because it was thought it would be highly unlikely to hit it so quickly.
They eventually found the sub and sure enough there was a hole in it from a five inch gun.
The navy has also been developing laser weapons, which would be ideal for this application.
USS Cole was hit near the crew’s quarters and the galley. I heard that everybody in the galley was killed. The attack happened a few minutes before meal time when the galley would have been packed with sailors.
+. Great story! The hole was exactly where the Ward reported it to be.
Trump:
If they fire on any of our ships you are authorized to defend yourself with extreme prejudice in an “extended manner”.
“extended manner” = Anything that floats. Every Port. All infrastructure that supports the port.
The US navy has Phalanx. It is unmaned fully automatic close in weapons system that was proven on the somoli pirates. the radar tracks target, bullet and brings the two together. 20 mm trust me, it will ruin your day.
I’ve seen lots of videos of Phalanx in action. “Ruin your day” — LOL. Understatement of the day.
Maybe this practice was to give the sailors some old-fashioned shoot-’em-up practice just in case Phalanx is broken.
I didn’t know that Phalanx radar also tracks the bullet, not just the target. That’s amazing. Makes perfect sense.
We don’t want to start a war. That means the bad guys get the first shot. Our job is to make sure that is also their last shot for a long, long time — and to clearly let the Iranian regime know this as well, so that they don’t fire the first shot to begin with.
This will also raise the price of oil.
Yes, the development of this system was completed just prior to my leaving the service in 1981. It is a wonderful system, nearly impossible to get through.
So you're saying this is the Navy Version of the Air Force Warthog "Laughs in BRRRRRRRRT" ?
Yes it does, thank you General Dynamics!!
Doubtful, supply and demand.
“War” with who?
Time to test our naval close defenses anyway.
* The Navy is fixed on “radar returns are targets”. If they ain’t got a return, it ain’t there. *
I’m reminded of the 2nd clash with NVA PT Boats in the Gulf of Tonkin. Radar returns for the wavetops convinced the deck watches of 2 destroyers that there was a 2nd attack underway. Most agree that the 2nd attack didn’t happen. So sometimes when you DO get a radar return, the boats ain’t there!
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