U.S military has recently conducted a first-of-its-kind training exercise in the Persian Gulf in which
U.S. Air Force AC-130W Stinger II gunship, U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol planes
and Cyclone class patrol boats.
The idea is to use these three assets to defeat swarms of small boats like the once that Iran's
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps deploy in a significant number.
The exercise comes at a time when tension between U.S and Iran has peaked again following
attack by Iranian-backed militias killed that killed two U.S. troops and a British service member.
As per reports, the exercise took place between Mar. 8 and 9, 2020 though it was revealed
only on March 15.
It's not clear how many AC-130Ws, P-8As, and Cyclones took part in total, but video and
images Naval Forces Central Command or NAVCENT subsequently released show at least one Stinger
II gunship and three of the patrol boats, including the USS Monsoon.
In this video Defense Updates analyzes how U.S military plans to defeat threats of Iranian
small boats in the Strait of Hormuz?
Let’s get started.
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The Strait of Hormuz is a strait between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.
It provides the only sea passage from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean.
It is one of the world's most strategically important choke points.
On the north coast lies Iran and on the south coast the United Arab Emirates and Musandam,
an exclave of Oman.
At its narrowest, the strait has a width of only 21 nautical miles or 39 km.
Around 33% of the world’s liquefied natural gas and almost 20% of total global oil production
passes through the strait making it one of the most important sea routes.
Because of its narrow width, it is kind of a choke point.
Small missile boats and fast attack vessels that can maneuver easily in these waters can
be used to harass large warships as well as commercial vessels.
Iran has invested in these kinds of small vessels and has developed strategies to deploy
them effectively in the strait.
In a Sep 11, 2008 report, the Washington Institute for the Near East Policy said that in the
two decades since the Iraqi imposed war on Iran, the IRGC has excelled in naval capabilities
and is able to wage unique asymmetric warfare against larger naval forces.
In December last year, the U.S. Navy has confirmed that "multiple" small Iranian boats ran alongside
the Nimitz class supercarrier USS Abraham Lincoln and other ships from her strike group
as she sailed through Strait of Hormuz into the Gulf of Oman.
Though U.S Navy had rejected reports that any of the Iranian craft harassed or otherwise
acted provocatively toward the carrier, it is clear that asymmetric threats are a cause
of concern for the large surface warships.
The point here is that these small boats are relatively cheap and can potentially cause
damage to valuable surface combatants of the U.S Navy, especially when acting as a swarm.
The Cyclone-class patrol ships are a class of United States Navy coastal patrol boats.
Most of these ships were launched between 1992 and 1994.
The primary mission of these ships is coastal patrol and interdiction surveillance, an important
aspect of littoral operations outlined in the U.S Navy's strategy, "Forward...From the
Sea."
These ships also provide full mission support for U.S. Navy SEALs and other special operations
forces.
The vessels of this class are 179 ft or 55 m in length and have a displacement of around
330-ton.
These are armed with a variety of weapons.
Each one is armed with two 25mm automatic cannons and a mixture of smaller machine guns
and automatic grenade launchers.
These patrol boats also now have two four-round launchers capable of firing AGM-176 Griffins
which is a small precision-guided missile capable of hitting moving targets.
The U.S has 14 of these in active service.
The P-8 Poseidon is developed by Boeing & is modified from the 737-800ERX.
It is capable of anti-submarine warfare (ASW), anti-surface warfare (ASUW), and shipping
interdiction.
It also has early warning self-protection (EWSP) ability.
Powered by 2 × CFM56-7B27A turbofans that are capable of generating 121 kN of thrust,
it is able to reach a maximum speed of 490 knots or 907 km/h.
It has a combat radius of 1,200 nmi or 2,222 km that enables it to cover large swaths of
ocean.
The P-8 is equipped with radar, optical and sonar sensors to detect submarines & surface
ships.
The P-8 features the Raytheon APY-10 multi-mission surface search radar.
P-8 is also able to drop and monitor sonobuoys which are basically expendable sonar systems.
P-8A is the American variant and the U.S has received delivery of more than 90 of these
with approximately additional 30 on order.
The Lockheed AC-130 gunship is a heavily armed, long-endurance, ground-attack variant of the
C-130 Hercules transport, fixed-wing aircraft.
It carries a wide array of ground attack weapons that are integrated with sophisticated sensors,
navigation, and fire-control systems.
The gunship's array of different sensors includes two different turrets equipped with both electro-optical
and infrared video cameras that enables it to spot and engage targets day or night, as
well as in bad weather.
The AC-130W has 30 mm automatic cannon and 105mm howitzer, as well as the ability to
employ various precision-guided bombs and missiles, including Griffins.
The large profile enables it to carry a lot of ammunition which is suitable when it has
to deal will a large number of targets like a swarm of small boats.
The idea is to make Cyclone-class patrol boats, P-8A Poseidon & AC-130W Gunships work together
in a coordinated manner.
U.S. Navy Captain Peter Mirisola, head of Destroyer Squadron 50 and also presently commander
of Combined Task Force 55, NAVCENT's main surface warfare task force, said in a statement,
“Our surface forces integrating with aircraft that have the firepower of an AC-130W brings
a capability to the joint force that profoundly enhances our lethality in the maritime environment.
The addition of the gunship to the joint maritime battle significantly enhances our ability
to detect, track, engage and defeat surface threats in order to control water space in
the Arabian Gulf.”
As per reports, during the exercise, at least one P-8A performed long-range maritime surveillance
mission and the Cyclones patrolled the sea.
The P-8A & Cyclones then directed the AC-130W to strike a number of mock targets.
Iran’s best chance against U.S military assets like an American Carrier group is asymmetric
warfare since traditional bombing attempt with it's out of date air force will not be
suitable.
A potential asymmetric attack could include the use of the missile laden speed boats in
the constraint space.
While the threat that small boats pose to major warships has been apparent for some
time, the Pentagon’s Millennium Challenge 2002 exercise brought the issue to mainstream
attention.
In that controversial exercise, small fast boats carrying suicide payloads inflicted
heavy damage on U.S. naval forces.
Hence, the U.S Navy is upgrading its strategy as well as operational tactics to counter
these kinds of attacks.
This exercise is especially aimed to thwart the Iranian attempts to use small boats to
inflict damage on American warships.