By Kris Osborn, President, Center for Military Modernization
A continued powerhouse presence of US Navy firepower near the Strait of Hormuz does seem to be keeping Iranian hostility, harassment and small boat swarm provocations somewhat at bay, at least for the time being. Several weeks ago, the US Navy sent destroyers and amphibious assault ships to the Strait of Hormuz to counter a string of intercepts, provocations and aggressive disruptions in the region by small boat swarms aligned with the Iranian-regime backed Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The absence of hostile activity may not make headlines as rapidly as hostile developments and provocations do, yet the IRGC has been quiet in recent weeks, a development which hardly seems coincidental as it corresponds to the forward presence of US Navy warships. Several weeks ago following a string of hostile and dangerous IRGC activities near the Iranian border in the Strait of Hormuz, the US Navy sent the USS McFaul, a DDG 51 Arleigh-Burke class guided missile destroyer and amphibious warship formations including the USS Bataan, an F-35B-armed Wasp-class ampib.
“As long as there remains a need for these forces to be in the region, they’re going to stay there. They are there to deter any threats or unprofessional or unsafe behavior from IRGC-backed groups,” Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh recently told reporters, according to a published DoD transcript.
While there has been a decrease in swarming small boat provocations, Iranian hostility has by no means disappeared, as it appears to be shifting into more of an “information warfare” kind of posture. An Iranian International news report released pictures and an IRGC-video of the USS Bataan, a powerful US Navy amphibious assault ship. The Iranian news source says “IRGC Navy ‘Intercepts’ US Navy Warships.” Despite the Iranian report that US ships were intercepted and warned, there is no reported incident of actual small boat provocation against the US warships.
Longstanding Problem of Iranian Small Boat Threats
The problem of Iranian provocations in the region, which have recently included threatening small boat swarming as well as hostile intercepts, harassment and intervention of non-combatant commercial vessels, is a serious and long-standing one. The small boat threat presented by Iran has likely inspired US Navy efforts to strengthen and refine ship defenses to counter a rapidly approaching small boat swarms.
Small boat swarming is designed to intimidate and threaten non-combatants but can also present a credible threat to large warships; by approaching at high speeds from multiple angles simultaneously, small boat swarms would likely seek to jam or simply overwhelmed ship defenses such as deck-mounted guns or interceptor missiles. The operational concept would be to use speed and volume to attack from so many positions at one time that ship-radar, interceptor weapons, EW jamming and guns simply cannot stop a large attack swarm firing from multiple positions. Small boats can be armed with shoulder-fired anti-ship weapons and various kinds of guns and missiles designed to damage surface warships. High-speed small boats can also themselves function as explosives designed to collide with and “explode” surface warships.
US Navy Firepower & Amphibious Threats
The US Navy’s forward positioned warships do appear to be having the desired impact, at least to the extent that there have not been repeated Iranian provocations since their arrival. Certainly a guided missile destroyer could easily hold Iranian vessels, coastal areas and land-based command and control at risk. With a range of 900 miles and the ability to track and destroy moving targets at sea or on land, the USS McFaul’s Tactical Tomahawk missiles could easily destroy critical parts of any Iranian Navy or ground force should US assets or allies be sufficiently provoked. To what extent would Iran test the US Navy’s resolve to use force if required?
The presence of amphibious assault ships is also likely giving Iran “pause” when it comes to engaging in further provocations, as they can both launch offensive amphibious attack operations or launch 5th-generation air power to hold Iran and its assets at grave risk. Iran is not believed to have any kind of 5th-generation aircraft and would appear quite vulnerable to amphib-launched F-35Bs able to operate freely above the Strait of Hormuz and destroy small boats if needed.
Therefore, perhaps Iran is slowing down or holding off on its long standing habit of provoking and threatening US ships, allied ships and non-combatants.
Kris Osborn is the President of Warrior Maven – Center for Military Modernization. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a Highly Qualified Expert with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Masters Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University
