Good points about USN ships defending themselves. Not sure if that translates into defending tankers, though, since the tankers won’t even leave port after a state of war exists.
So it’s not enough that our USN ships can transit the straits: they must eliminate even the threat of Iranian ASCMs. That’s a much harder proposition. In my scenario, all the Iranians have to do is manage to launch a few ASCMs every few days, to keep the tankers from sailing. Hitting targets would only be a bonus.
In any case, 2012 is shaping up to be an “interesting” year.
” In my scenario, all the Iranians have to do is manage to launch a few ASCMs every few days, to keep the tankers from sailing. Hitting targets would only be a bonus.
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Exactly. Regardless of the sinking of any ships, missiles fired into the water would be enough to keep the ships in port and for Iran to claim victory. We can huff and puff all day with the world’s greates military but if those ships stay home Iran has acheived their goal.