We know the Iranians will attack in a mass rush of small boats loaded with explosives.
They will launch a wave of 107 mm rockets that will land about 500 meters away from the target and create a wall of water that effectively blinds all our onboard targeting radar.
The small boats rush through at 40+ knots. Our weapons have 4-5 seconds to degrade them before they are too close and below the ship’s weapon horizon. You can only aim so low.
The small boats are made of fiberglass and wood, further making them harder to detect.
They only way to pick up the target is by overhead look-down radar such as from drones or AWACs, if they are available.
Many sailors from the USS Carl Vincent, recently returned, reporting seeing many dhows and other small wooden boats passing very close by, often.
I witnessed a target practice where the only effective down range weapons were human-aimed. The Phalanx was unable to acquire and stay on target until it was shut down. The practice target was a floating raft of wooden pallets topped by a steel container painted white.
The bobbing and weaving of floating targets and interference by waves made aiming very erratic.
The most hits came from gunners with .50 caliber Brownings, followed by gunners with 25 mm cannons. Visual acquisition down range was critical close in.
Tactically, the most effective defense appears to be Marines with 240G hand held automatic weapons firing from the deck rails and weather decks.
We made need to greatly expand the Marine complements on board every ship in the Gulf including these littorals.
I haven’t mentioned the problems of a night attack or an attack coming out of the rising sun.
As we waited for the target to come by, the glare and shimmer from sunlight was blinding. I identified the target before the deck watch whom were using polarized, digitally enhanced binoculars, by looking out the side of my eye for differences in color in the distance.
At sea, we will find a very low tech and personal fight.
Thanks gandalftb.
The Navy had better implement a Kamikaze type shield.
Easy for me to say.