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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Irans Suicide Fleet
2010-12-09
A FLEET of suicide ships is being built by crackpot naval commanders in Iran.

More than 9,000 speedboats have been made with deadly explosives engineered into their hulls. The vessels - to patrol the Persian Gulf where UK forces operate - will be piloted by extremist "martyrs". They can be rammed into the side of "enemy" ships and each carries enough explosives to rip a seven-metre hole in a boat's keel.

Around 30,000 kamikaze captains are being trained to steer the ships, a source claimed. There are plans to build 15,000 of the six-metre vessels. Their C4 explosives go off when rammed into larger ships.

An Iranian defector asked to design the crafts revealed the secret plot after fleeing the country - led by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The ex-military engineer, said: "They wanted me to help build a vast fleet of suicide boats. It's shocking. That amount of explosives is deadly. I love Iran and that's why I'm revealing this. No one in Iran wants a war."

A US vessel was attacked by a suicide boat in 2000, killing 17, in Yemen
Posted by:746

#10  1. Carriers never travel alone
2. They are not on the outside of the protective circle(s)
3. They are VERY hard to sink
4. If it is suicide the Iranians want, it will be suicide they get. Unfortunately for them, they may accomplish nothing for their suicide.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia   2010-12-09 22:27  

#9  1 man or 9000?
Posted by: Skidmark   2010-12-09 22:24  

#8  or just blow the bases to smithereens..
Posted by: Water Modem   2010-12-09 19:07  

#7  Practicalities. "If you can even see this aircraft carrier, you are not only too damn close, you are targeted and have only seconds to live."
Posted by: Anonymoose   2010-12-09 17:03  

#6  how about all of the above?

Yep. And all of the stuff that shows up below, too!

And I also forgot to mention one of my favorites: Flamethrowers at the waterline.

I like the airburst idea.

I wonder how our weapons would hold out if they sent one boat at a time after a carrier.

And they could use the boats as a diversion while a sub sneaked in.

I'll bet they could sell slots of time at the 50-cals.

And how about the electromagnetically propelled stuff, eh? I believe I remember seeing something about the navy working on getting a 5" round to go a hundred miles or so.
Posted by: gorb   2010-12-09 14:02  

#5  Gorb,
how about all of the above?
Posted by: Frozen Al   2010-12-09 13:40  

#4  gorb: When the USN means it, they don't pussyfoot around. And that can mean gruesome. I gather that airburst area shrapnel weapons are being considered.

My own personal fave would be to use propane bombs, which over water would be "special". Anybody in boats over a half kilometer or better diameter would have something like their lungs, eyes, and eardrums explode all at once.
Posted by: Anonymoose   2010-12-09 13:10  

#3  Slat armor for ships?
High pressure water jets?
Reactive armor?
Wires at neck height?
Daisy cutters?
Gobs of computer-controlled 50-cals along the edge of the deck?
EMPs?
Semi-autonomos kamikazi hover-bots that explode on impact.
Blow up the boats that are closest to other boats and start a chain reaction.
Mine their harbor.
Put a cable underwater across their harbor (but don't count on it working).
Q-carriers.
Posted by: gorb   2010-12-09 12:33  

#2  Simple countermeasures, you sail within 100 Yards of our warship YOU WILL BE SUNK.

Followed by the Islamonuts simply swarming our ships with thousands of Dingys loaded with women, children, and Burkahed "Martyrs"
Posted by: Redneck Jim   2010-12-09 12:16  

#1  The USN Navy has had a big down on suicide attacks ever since WWII. And with even a suggestion that a potential enemy is scheming such a thing, the USN will burn a little midnight oil to develop "countermeasures".

And the US should be crystal clear and public with its maritime warnings: that an exclusion zone and blockade surround Iran, so that all military and commercial ships, boats and submarines not expressly identified in advance as being authorized in that zone may be seen as hostile and fired upon.

This is essential, as the number of military submarines in the world has proliferated much like battleships did prior to WWI, and it would prove very tempting for many nations to observe the US submarine fleet in combat operations. And other things.

Even the Israelis should be aware that unless they let us know ahead of time, there will be no involvement by them in our exclusion zone, without prior permission.
Posted by: Anonymoose   2010-12-09 10:06  

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