Iran attacks replica of aircraft carrier

[Kirk Freeman]

Geez, we zap one little civilian airliner and Iran gets all bent out of shape.

 

[jblomenberg16]

Iran is certainly a world leader in making fake military vehicles/crafts/vessels/etc.

LOL! You got that right!

 

[eric001]

I thought sure I saw where the Navy had a laser-equipped destroyer playing in Iran's neck of the woods, but when I searched, I just kept finding the same story over and over:

Futuristic Laser Weapon Ready for Action, US Navy Says

That looks like a weapon system pretty much perfect for the boat swarm issue. Either way, I figure the carrier group already has plenty of firepower to handle a swarm of small boats, missiles, whatever. I certainly wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of their counterstrike if attacked, that's for danged sure.

On a side note, now that they've proven it works, I'd love to see half a dozen or more of those systems on each carrier, 2-4 on each destroyer and above. At least for those big nuke-powered carriers, they could never run out of juice and thus ammo would never be an issue.

 

[mrortega]

I'm afraid that someday someone will score on a carrier. I don't care how well defended it is it's just a matter of time. At one time people thought that an airplane could never sink a battle ship. The carrier killer will probably be some kind of missile. How can you defend against such a small target travelling at supersonic speed?

 

[jblomenberg16]

The point is...unless we are engaged with active combat with a sovereign nation, hitting a carrier as an act of terrorism doesn't make it a logical HVT. It would have little "terror" effect on the general public, and would unleash such a powerful military response both while in progress, as a response, it would likely be a huge negative exchange in terms of military loss for those attacking.

Now...if we are engaged in very much active combat against a sovereign nation, it would very much be a HVT, but would likely be very far from their immediate ability to carry out a strike, unless we are fighting one of the other super powers.


I don't want to underestimate the enemies that the US has around the world, but I also want to be realistic that most of our current enemies are either terrorist cells that are trying to scare the US public out of our freedoms, or are fairly underdeveloped minor powers that in all likelihood don't have the resources to sustain any sort of armed conflict with us (Russia excluded...but they aren't dumb or desparate enough to start WWIII just yet).

 

[AA&E]

Wait, they attacked a fake carrier made of 2x4's, Styrofoam, and aluminum siding, but sill didn't sink it. How the heck do they think they'd sink a real one again?

Well foam floats.

Yep, steel isn't very buoyant. But those deck guns, support vessels, and aircraft wouldn't let an Iranian aircraft within a 100 miles of a carrier group.

 

[firefighterjohn]

they shoot back. lots.. an attack like that would end seconds, and the anti sub folks won't even blink..
Close-in weapon system - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Here's a short Phalanx video; one of many...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtPWMTTF6ac

 

[halfmileharry]

Never underestimate any enemy or threat. Overconfidence will get you killed.
Do I think Iran poses a threat? Yes.
Do I think this is just a smoke screen for something else? Yes. This is too simple and obvious. We're talking about a country with religious zealots and fools that will stick a block of C4 up their kiester and walk into a room full of people they don't know just for a future shot at a couple of virgins. (I'd personally rather have a shot with experienced floozies)
I'm not so sure of our present leadership's willingness to make any attacker pay to the extent of gaining the world's attention and giving a real deterrent to future attacks on the U.S.
We do have a very capable military system but that doesn't mean we can't be had.
I was learned to "hit 'em where they ain't and when they ain't expectin' it". It worked pretty good a long time ago in a land far, far, away.

 

[BigMoose]

Yeah because the last time the Iranians tangled with the USN really went so well for them.

Operation Praying Mantis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Birds Away]

Not really.
Carriers by themselves have very little to directly defend themselves, other than a few M-2s and (I don't think they even have these anymore) Sea Sparrow anti-air missiles.
Their air wing, of course, is there, but it still has to be aloft when the SHTF, so it's a pretty defenseless target by itself, a very big and tempting target at that.
That's why you invariably see a battle group surrounding these bird farms, composed of cruisers, destroyers, frigates, and (you won't ever see it, but it's there nonetheless) a sub or two.

Small boat swarms are a real threat to a carrier, not unlike missile swarms.

The issue, of course, is that carriers travel alone pretty much never...and a carrier strike group has a MASSIVE amount of firepower available to defend the carrier.

But hey, let them exercise...

You might be surprised at how often a carrier operates with only one escort. The subs, while technically a part of the battle group, are rarely in direct support of the carrier.

 

[Birds Away]

One of the real issues is a very restrictive ROE. How close are those boghammers going to get before we can shoot?

 

[BehindBlueI's]

I'm afraid that someday someone will score on a carrier. I don't care how well defended it is it's just a matter of time. At one time people thought that an airplane could never sink a battle ship. The carrier killer will probably be some kind of missile. How can you defend against such a small target travelling at supersonic speed?

I think it would take a LOT of 'scores' to cripple a carrier. They are absolutely gigantic, and I'm sure they are built compartamentalized so that a rupture in the hull in one place is quickly contained.

 

[Birds Away]

I think it would take a LOT of 'scores' to cripple a carrier. They are absolutely gigantic, and I'm sure they are built compartamentalized so that a rupture in the hull in one place is quickly contained.

True. My biggest fear would be an RPG on the flight deck during flight ops with fueled and armed planes parked all over. Could be the Forrestal all over again.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

True. My biggest fear would be an RPG on the flight deck during flight ops with fueled and armed planes parked all over. Could be the Forrestal all over again.

I'm sure you know way more about it than I do. I was thinking of the USS Cole and how little it was compared to a carrier, but wasn't considering the planes and what not.

 

[A 7.62 Exodus]

That carrier was was about as metal as nickleback

 

[jblomenberg16]

I'm sure you know way more about it than I do. I was thinking of the USS Cole and how little it was compared to a carrier, but wasn't considering the planes and what not.

I think the Cole really drove a lot of changes into how we handle some threats that were previously thought to be very remote, and certainly very unconventional. I would guess we have some capabilities that aren't very well known to the general public as to how we might prevent a swarm of smaller boats from doing a literal kamikaze mission against a carrier.

 

[Birds Away]

I'm sure you know way more about it than I do. I was thinking of the USS Cole and how little it was compared to a carrier, but wasn't considering the planes and what not.

You're absolutely right about breaching the hull. It would take a lot to really put the ship in danger. These ships are fully compartmentalized and have very robust damage control organizations that are well trained and highly effective. Localized flooding is easily combatted with isolation, pumping, counter-flooding for stability, etc. The worst case scenario would be an explosion in the hangar or the flight deck.

 

[halfmileharry]

You're absolutely right about breaching the hull. It would take a lot to really put the ship in danger. These ships are fully compartmentalized and have very robust damage control organizations that are well trained and highly effective. Localized flooding is easily combatted with isolation, pumping, counter-flooding for stability, etc. The worst case scenario would be an explosion in the hangar or the flight deck.

I did some Doberman Duty on a couple of ships in the mid 80s.
The Navy Crews are trained to the maximum. Top notch in every aspect. I'm sure 100%, without any doubt, they can handle ANYTHING that comes their way. Thumbs up to the United States Navy.

 

[Birds Away]

I did some Doberman Duty on a couple of ships in the mid 80s.
The Navy Crews are trained to the maximum. Top notch in every aspect. I'm sure 100%, without any doubt, they can handle ANYTHING that comes their way. Thumbs up to the United States Navy.

It's pretty easy to motivate sailors to learn damage control once they realize there is no one to call for help. We either save ourselves or we don't.

 

[singlestacksig]

The Cole taught us to not let them get close at all.
U.S. ship fires on fishing boat in Persian Gulf, killing 1 - Los Angeles Times