US says Iranian gunboats harassed warships (Weapons locked and loaded)

MSNBC ^ | January 7th, 2008 | Jim Miklaszewski

[mdmathis6]

Sir Francis Drake”s smaller ships defeated the Spanish Armada! Irans smaller speed boats en mass could do the same.

There was a Naval Admiral a few years back who’s war games scenario was quashed because he used a politically incorrect scenario of the massed smaller speed boats that defeated the American fleet. The uppers quashed the scenario and re-assigned and silenced the Admiral because he did not use the “established” protocols for the war games based on a possible straight of Hormuz!

It seems to me that we need to develop Naval ships who could deploy several dozen smaller heavily armed speed boats to counter the threats that these smaller enemy boats may signify...kind of like a naval Battlestar Gallactaca vessel. These smaller vessels could then form a screen against other such smaller enemy boats being deployed against our larger ships and carriers. Unmanned decoy boats could also be used to counter Chinese Sunburn supersonic cruise missiles.

[Gondring]

How about this....blow them out of the water and when they complain..make them a parking lot!

You working for the Dems these days?

[G8 Diplomat]

Bush is visiting Israel tomorrow. These moves are connected.

[G8 Diplomat]

FYI: in Iran it's known as the Persian Gulf. I've heard it referred to as such in other contexts as well, but I can't remember offhand where.

Iranians call it the Persian Gulf, Arabs call it the Arabian Gulf. Arabs and Persians hate each other, and they've even got name games for a body of water to prove it.

[BwanaNdege]

If I remember correctly. the old 5”-38 gun mount had a fire control radar capable of taking out an incoming 5” round. This was in the mid-1960’s, so hopefully this is no longer classified.

The “fast boats” are not much of a challenge compared to that. Of course, there’s always the Phalanx.

http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNUS_Phalanx.htm

“Phalanx Block 1 saw service introduction in 1988. Block 1 baseline 0 upgrades included a larger magazine (1,500 rounds), a multiple pulse repetition frequency search radar, an expanded radar search envelope to counter diving targets as well as reliability and maintainability improvements. Block 1 was also able to engage targets diving at steeper angles than Block 0 could handle. Block 1 replaced the 2-D scanning antenna of Block 0 with a four-plate back-to-back antenna that continuously searches from the horizon up to the vertical. The cease-fire protocol was changed to match the burst length to the type of target being engaged, thus conserving ammunition and allowing a greater number of targets to be engaged. In automatic control, the gun will prioritize the first six threats it sees at about 10,000 yards (9,100 m) and engage at 4,000 yards (3,600 m). “

[Polybius]

Phalanx Block 1 saw service introduction in 1988

Block 1 was designed for airborne threats but not surface threats.

Surface threats were addressed with the Phalanx Block 1B Surface Mode and upgrade of the older systems has been "going on" since 2000.

The question is whether all U.S. ships in the Persian Gulf currently have the Block 1B Surface Mode upgrade.

[Uriah_lost]

It’s all about driving up the oil prices. It’s the only arrow in their quiver.

[MEG33]

My grandson said they have audio and video of the incident..but does not know if they will be released(He is aboard US Port Royal.)

[sappy]

I wonder what was in the boxes

[MEG33]

No news on that!