[GonzoGOP]

Iran's three Kilo class boats have the potential to be very dangerous. Of course that would involve them having properly trained crews that could get the most out of the submarines that they have. While the quality of the Kilo class is not in doubt, the quality of the Iranian crews is much more speculative.

If they start spending a lot of time at sea drilling their crews they could have a dangerous submarine force in a year or two. But for the time being they spend a lot of time tied to the dock. At their estimated skill level they would need to get lucky to kill a carrier. One hit won't do it unless it is a nuke. However if they intend to go after merchants it would be another matter.

[Tallguy]

They don’t need the subs to take out the supertankers. Simple sea mines would be more cost effective. As such, best use of the Kilos might be as undersea minelayers. Sew a minefield across the strait & ‘declare the strait closed’.

I expect that the Iranians understand that the Kilo’s would be ‘toast’ once this happens, so they’ll push them out into the Indian Ocean to hunt the carriers. They probably won’t survive long due to crew proficiency, but the fear-factor to the US CVBG’s would be disproportionate.