Hizballah Brings out Iranian Silkworm to Hit Israel Navy Corvette

DEBKA file ^ | July 15, 2006, 1:37 PM (GMT+02:00) | DEBKAfile Exclusive Military Analysis

[Tinian]

Having said that, I am still waiting to see pics of the stricken vessel.

Go to post #83 -- it links to a video of the missile strike.

[Paperpusher]

But, before yesterday, most would have laid odds that a single Sarr 5 could defeat several C-802s launched at it.

If the ship was 10 miles offshore, they would have had less than one min. to react, I know that the systems are automated, but they have to be turned on to start with, and with other ships in the area and not expecting a missile, it may have been off.

[null and void]

It would be a shame if one of those Hizballah missiles went astray and took out the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

I forsee the much same. Although I'm thinking more likely an Iranian launch...

[Calpernia]

Related:

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3275923,00.html

Excerpt:

The ship is currently being towed back to Israeli territorial waters.

A senior IDF officer said the ship was struck by an Iranian-made C802 missile, but he refused to say whether or not Iranian activists were behind the launching itself.

The army said two C802 missiles were fired at the vessel; the first missed the ship and struck an Egyptian boat some 60 kilometers (37 miles) off the Lebanon coast.

The stern of the ship was hit shortly after 8:30 p.m. Friday night and a conflagration ignited on the helicopter landing pad. The hit also damaged the ship’s internal operating systems.



Video clip of the Missile that hit ship Iranian-made at link

[Jeff Head]

Those ships are there to protect the other gun boats against this type of attack. If they were not going to be active, they should not have been there. I cannot imagine having your best anti-air vessel in a combat environment and not having it activated to defend against air attack. Does not make sense to me.

I will bet dollars to doughnuts that they were active...but if the missile came in from the stern, low to the water and fast, and was using passive homing, they didn't have time once the threat came over their event horizon...this would emply that the vessel either was not data-linked to other assets (AEW/AWACS, and other vessels), which would also be surprising, or that those assets also missed the threat.

[Jim Noble]

Jeff, I agree completely that the PRC wants no part of this mess.

What I object to is the opinion that China will secretly be on our side, because they so value the "world economy".

They may or may not value it, but I firmly believe that if they could bring about our demise by trashing the world economy, they would not think twice.

[dennisw]

If a C-802 was fired (or two of them) than.....

One FR poster said this silkworm is comparable to Exocet warhead. But that the Chinese have a more modern silkworm with 500kg warhead. This older edition has about 175kg warhead. Also is said the NKors upgraded the (guidance probably) Iranians older silkworms ... the C802. Older as in bought circa 1991

[Jim Noble]

represents a serious threat to our own shipping in the GUlf from Iran

There are only 4 ships on the planet that can force the Straits of Hormuz.

Too bad they are either decommissioned or in mothballs.

Nothing ever changes.

[Jeff Head]

The C-801 and C-802 are newer technology than the Silk Worm, and are much more akin to an Exocet or Harpoon missiles. They do not have as big a warhead as the Silk Worm (which can carry up to one ton) but have a 165kg warhead, good technology (much better thant he Silk Worm) and good range.

Either way, this is clearly Chinese Technology, bought and deployed by the Iranians and is a clear indication of their involvement in the fight IMHO.

[Jim Noble]

[Jeff Head]

I am not sure that the PRC wants no part...just that the timing may be off. I believe they will use economic or military assets, whichever fits their aims the best, to do exactly as you state...bring about our demise as a world superpower.

If this thing gets going and we get heavily engaged and occupied...I would not be surprised to see them try something, first through their surrogates the N. Koreans, and then, depending on how that went, they themselves. I just would have thought such a scenario would develop sometime after the Olympics though.

[dennisw]

Thanks for the info. Do you think the USA is capable of taking out Iranian c802 if they are deployed on the Iranian coast. Aimed at the Straits of Hormuz to disrupt oil shipping. If and when we try to take out Iran's nuclear facilities

[rahbert]

there isn't much for a precision weapon to strike on the Lebanon coast. Likely these C802s are fired from a temporary position, then the crew and launcher scoot.

Either the Israelis cobble together a fix for the Barak
system or cede the control of the sea there. They don't
have the manpower to land enough troops to prevent these
missile firings.

[Jeff Head]

We would have to escort every tanker...or convoys of them...with AEGIS vessels and with strong air cover, including AEW and AWACS. Before we started, we would attempt to locate and take out every shore based launcher for these mssiles we could find. Trouble is, a number of the missiles have mobile launchers which are much more difficult to find and destroy.

I believe our systems are capable of engaging the threat, particularly against our vessels. Whether they could adequately defend many oil tankes is the question...and to do that, we have to avoid multiple launchers attacking one or two ships at once.

It's a dicey thing.

[brazzaville]

Good morning.

If a Silkworm hit a loaded tanker in the Straits of Hormuz, the destruction would be catastrophic. If two or three hit a ship like the Iwo Jima while it was retrieving American citizens from Lebanon, we would almost certainly be at war with the fools that launched them.

Michael Frazier

[dennisw]

I am not sure that the PRC wants no part...just that the timing may be off.

The ChiComs like the death of a thousand cuts. They like to see us flailing about in Iraq. They like to see us wasting/spending military resources in Iraq. Chaos is the friend of China. They like the chaos NKorea and Hizbulla make. Plus they get oil at a discounted price from Iran. Bob Baer was on TV last night saying he was in Tehran recently. Saw lots of Chinese dining at the restaurants. That these Chinese looked to be military technicians. Came right out and said the way it works is China gets oil and Iran gets weapons.

(I still support our role in Iraq)

[dennisw]

Bob Baer --->>> http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/140004684X/ref=pd_sim_b_1/104-4314252-4325566?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance&n=283155

[dennisw]

We would have to escort every tanker...or convoys of them...with AEGIS vessels and with strong air cover, including AEW and AWACS. Before we started, we would attempt to locate and take out every shore based launcher for these mssiles we could find. Trouble is, a number of the missiles have mobile launchers which are much more difficult to find and destroy.

Travis McGee used to say the Iranian shoreline was barren, little ground cover. Thus easier to seek and destroy silkworm batteries. That's one plus for the good guys

[Jeff Head]

I support our role in Iraq and Afghanistan too.

In all of this, as dire as the threat from Iran and Syria might be, we also have to be aware of and prepared for the Chinese manuevering, which is forging alliances and understandings around the world against our best interests, from Venezuela and South America, to the Carrabian, to Africa, in the Mid-East and throughout Asia.

I believe the administraition is aware of it, but feel sometime they lean to far to the globalist philosophy of empowering China with money and manufacturing in the hopes that they become too dependent on it and their people will not let them risk it.

I do not believe the ChiComms are beset by any such notions. We are their target and they will bleed us until they think they can take us down IMHO, while building their own position up to a point to try and replace us.

[Jim Noble]

Turkey Trots to Water//
Need fast BBs Straits of Hormuz Soonest//
Where oh where is USS Wisconsin, USS New Jersey. USS Iowa, USS Missouri//
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