Could USS Eisenhower Now in Strait of Hormuz Stop Iranian Swarming Small Boats?

By Kris Osborn, President, Center for Military Modernization 

A powerful US Navy Carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, cruiser and several destroyers joined a French destroyer transiting through the highly dangerous Strait of Hormuz bordering Iran, a narrow passageway connecting the Persian Gulf to the open ocean and Gulf of Oman.

The passageway is referred to as among the most critical “choke points” in the world, as massive amounts of commercial ship traffic travels through the waterway to deliver oil, supplies, food and other critical items traveling to and from key areas of the Middle East and beyond.

The Strait is only 90-miles wide in some places and as narrow at 35 miles at its most narrow point, so a US Navy aircraft carrier and its accompanying warships are well positioned to launch massive, impactful air and weapons attacks deep into parts of Iran should that be necessary. The show of US Navy power is likely a message of deterrence to Iran in response to Iranian-backed terrorist attacks on US personnel and facilities. The presence of such firepower is perhaps a reminder to Iran that indeed the US Navy operates with what is arguably an unparalleled ability to project destructive power.

The entire Persian Gulf spans roughly 210 miles across in many points, placing the Iranian coastline and other bordering areas easily within reach of carrier-launched fighter jets. Destroyers armed with Tomahawks, for instance, can also strike from hundreds of miles away from the Persian Gulf. Therefore, while the Persian Gulf’s Strait of Hormuz enhances and does not limit offensive strike capability for US warships, it does raise questions about ship-defenses and potential vulnerability to Iranian mines, shore-launched missiles and small boat attacks.

Of course littoral areas increase the risk of moored or freer floating sea mines intended to deny access to coastal areas, and certainly Iran operates a wide sphere of cruise missiles and ballistic missiles capable of targeting ships in the Persian Gulf, however the level of guidance accuracy, precision and ability to track and hit moving targets may be less certain. Nonetheless, concern over Iranian attacks are both quite significant and justified, given the geography of ocean passageways and known Iranian tactics. A report from US Central Command says Iran has interfered with or seized more than 20 vessels since 2021. 

The largest Iranian threat, however, could perhaps best be described by possible attacks from small boats swarms designed to harass, intimidate, intercept or even attack commercial and military vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz. This kind of threat is very real and by no means unusual as Iran is known to regularly swarm commercial and military ships with high-speed, maneuverable swarming groups of armed small boats.

While seemingly composed of only small boats, a collection or swarm of small attack boats do present a serious risk to large warships in a number of key respects. The tactical concept would be to attack a surface ship from so many angles at one time in order to overwhelm and break through ship defenses. Boats could be packed with explosives intended to collide with surface warships or fire anti-armor weapons from a large number of angles and locations at one time.