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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Iran 'master of asymmetric naval warfare' |
| 2008-09-11 |
| A US-based think tank says Iran's navy forces are capable of waging a unique asymmetric warfare against larger naval forces. The report by The Washington Institute for the Near East Policy authored by Fariborz Haghshenas, an expert on the Iranian military, says that in the two decades since the Iran-Iraq War, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Navy (IRGCN) has been transformed into a highly motivated, well-equipped, and well-financed force. The study sheds light on the historical evolution of Iran's approach to asymmetric warfare, assessing its naval forces and evaluating its plans for a possible war with the US. The report says Iran, with such a strong navy force, is effectively holding the world's oil lifeline, the Strait of Hormuz. The study concludes that Iran is capable of taking preemptive action in response to a perceived threat of imminent attack. In the event of a US attack, the scale of Iran's response would likely be proportional to the scale of the damage inflicted on Iranian assets, the report says. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #21 A US-based think tank says Iran's navy forces are capable of waging a unique asymmetric warfare against larger naval forces. BFD. So is any other country. Or a few people with enough financial backing to buy some explosives. |
| Posted by: Mike N. 2008-09-11 21:17 |
| #20 I'd be asking where Fariborz gets his money ....bet he has a supplemental income? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2008-09-11 21:05 |
| #19 I suspect the study is also perhaps giving too much weight to Iran's claims of mini-sub capability. |
| Posted by: Snaing Stalin2919 2008-09-11 19:50 |
| #18 Good job Aegis cruisers don't have a large steerable EM source, otherwise they could cook incoming small ships! |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2008-09-11 18:28 |
| #17 In this context, "asymmetric naval warfare" means kamikaze swarms of small boats and planes to take out US naval vessels. However, against CIWs, 5-inch primary guns, .50 caliber machine guns, Standard missiles, Penguin missiles, and the like, the Iranian swarm rapidly becomes chum. That view of the Iranian ability to attack makes one major assumption : that Iranian assets will be immune from counter-strike operations, both before and during their swarming. Tomahawks and 500-lbs JDAMs make that most unlikely. |
| Posted by: Shieldwolf 2008-09-11 18:20 |
| #16 Their boats get blowed up and our ships don't. |
| Posted by: mojo 2008-09-11 15:31 |
| #15 WTF is assymetrical naval warfare? |
| Posted by: James Carville 2008-09-11 15:22 |
| #14 Actually, Iran pioneered that approach with children and land mines in the Iran-Iraq War. |
| Posted by: Darrell 2008-09-11 14:52 |
| #13 Any ship can be a minesweeper.... Once. (From Murphy's laws of naval combat) |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2008-09-11 14:41 |
| #12 our minesweeping capabilities are way down from even Vietnam timeframe. I believe all the MC-53 assets have been retired w/out replacements (H-53 helicopters towing sleds to detect / explode mines) and there are only a few operational minesweepers. |
| Posted by: USN, Ret. 2008-09-11 13:49 |
| #11 Here's his report if any one wants to read it. If I'm in the Iranian navy, I don't think I would. Words like "martyrdom", "kamikaze", "suicide" and "does not bode well for their survival" show up. A lot. Missiles and mines. Everybody else seems to end up dead. http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC04.php?CID=298 |
| Posted by: tu3031 2008-09-11 12:56 |
| #10 Asymmetric naval warfare = On your back, on the bottom, looking up at the opposition's hull. |
| Posted by: Grunter 2008-09-11 12:09 |
| #9 Sounds like an OPEC conspiracy. Besides trying to delay any strike against them, the threat of closing the Strait of Hormuz will drive up the price of oil again. |
| Posted by: Danielle 2008-09-11 10:43 |
| #8 Seems like more MSM spin and propaganda to keep anyone from hitting Iran. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2008-09-11 09:42 |
| #7 I think they're talking about suicide speedboats and antiship missiles. I'm sure nobody in Annapolis has ever considered such things, since they're all such dummies -- not nearly as bright as Iran's Republican Guards. |
| Posted by: Fred 2008-09-11 08:53 |
| #6 Yeah, but we and most other legitimate navies have mine sweepers. Sweeping a sea lane wouldn't be that hard, and ships don't get out of the sea lane. It sounds stupid, but in the middle of the ocean they stay in the sea lanes that are only, say, half a mile wide. As for the swarming that they plan to do with small boats: 500 marines on the deck of a ship could shoot a lot of rubber dinghies. |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2008-09-11 08:33 |
| #5 The best tactic for Iran would be mines. Mines are extremely cost effective. All they would need is a few oil tankers down. It would also be a slow tedious process to get rid of them. |
| Posted by: BernardZ 2008-09-11 08:04 |
| #4 And in the two decades since the Iran-Iraq War, the US Navy has added Aegis, Tomahawk, GCCS, etc. Global Security is currently showing the Iranian naval inventory as such: SS - 8 DD - 0 FF - 4 Corvette - 2 Missile Boat - 40 Patrol Craft - 181 I'd suggest Mr. Haghshenas take a look at Operation Praying Mantis. There can be asymmetry in naval warfare (sub vs. surface, mines vs. everything), but boghammers don't get to blend in with the local populace; they kind of stick out on the ocean. Also, the last line makes no sense. Typically, in warfare, the greater the damage your opponent does to you lessens the scale of your response because, like, you know, your stuff got blown up and isn't around to respond anymore. |
| Posted by: Dreadnought 2008-09-11 06:06 |
| #3 I don't get it. Recently read that US has half of the world's naval capability. Britaion's previously awesome navy now is mostly paint holding rusty metal together. Russia has much of the remaining world naval capacity. I can see Iran blocking the strait for a week or two, but then what? After we destroy everything bigger than a ski boat of theirs, what do they do next? Maybe they can ski boat sucide bombers in to blow up the oil tankers? Help me out, here military guys. I don't get what Fariborz Haghshenas is talking about. |
| Posted by: Richard of Oregon 2008-09-11 05:36 |
| #2 ION KOMMERSANT > CROATIA SUSPECTED OF SELLING S-300 ADS SYSTEMS TO IRAN. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2008-09-11 03:11 |
| #1 All the more reason to do an Alpha strike on ALL their naval forces and facilities. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2008-09-11 02:19 |