Posted on 07/15/2006 4:21:36 AM PDT by Oeconomicus
I give up trying to post pix.
Yea, not sure of the configuration of the Israeli corvettes.
These missiles have to be transported from their storage areas to their firing points. Even if they are moved at night, Israel should be able to detect them with her air assets and FLIR technology. The thing to do is track them back to the source and eradicate the "nest".
I've heard nothing about any anti-air capability the terrorists might have; I'd have expected a few Israeli warplanes to have had some (at least) near misses from SAM launches.
Any traffic larger than an auto moving at night should be a legitimate target for the IAF.
Yes, that is one of several lessons.
1 Never underestimate your foe
2 Never Overestimate your own force
3 Battleships would be nice to have around (anything short of a nuke would bounce off)
4 Iran may have some missiles that jam our radar
5 DEBKA was more correct than not on this story, but some (not talking about you) will overlook it.
Several commentators, including Bernard Lewis, have stated that the aura of 1938 is in the air. A FR post recently compared the present war to the Spanish civil war.
I think your comment above leads one to concur with the latter.
Iran is doing a test run of weapons and strategies for what they think is coming. They are war-gaming for The Big One.
I expect the last Captains of the Prince of Wales, the Repulse and the Yamato, would beg to disagree.
Doubtful. They might however have a home on jam mode that homes in on ship based jammers trying to jam it's radar.
More like the Harpoon, since the Exocet is powered by a solid rocket motor, while the Harpoon and C-802 use a turbine engine (as does the most recent version of the Exocet). All have about the same speed and warhead weight.
Well, not quite that bad, more like a the F-16 is in the F-102 family.
The Red Chinese take a long view of history and have shown the willingness to sacrifice the comfort of millions of its people to achieve a goal.
It hit the vessel, or had a near miss. It did not sink it, and killed 4 sailors out a crew of 60 or so. The hit was on the helicopter deck and the fire was likely the jet fuel for the bird. Some internal ship systems damaged as well.
That a great idea! we should steal their missiles and blow up their mosques with them!(yeah right.)
Well, if the guidance system fails, no way to tell where it might end up.
It would be hard to tell the difference between a C-802 hit and a Harpoon or SLAM hit though (SLAM is land attack variant of the Harpoon).
Doubtless (yet another) courtesy of the Russian Pucker, Futin.
...and it had to leave the AO, being towed, or very slowly making its own way back to port for repairs, thus mission killed.
<p.
But it will fight another day, and will probably have a bit in its mouth when it comes out of the yards.
Because it tends to shoot things you don't want shot. That nearby Egyptian vessel for example.
Even an Iowa class battleship is vulnerable to 500 kg warheads or even lighter ones that utilize a "terminal pop up and dive" maneuver. Ask the Prince Of Wales, Repulse or Yamato captains, no different than an aircraft attack, except the guided missiles are more like a much faster kamikaze carrying a large bomb.
OTOH, a couple /three carrier battle groups can stand off outside of missile range and pound the snot out of the missile launch sites, the command and control facilities, and logistics routes. Or they could have some help from a few BUFFs, Bones, or Stealth fighters. Oh, and a few P-3s to sweep up the Iranian Subs, (those alone, if they could make them work, could easily sink one of the Iowas, assuming they could get close enough, which is highly unlikely.
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