It’d stop them launching ships to lay mines, or launching midget submarines and naval drones, which is a start. It might keep the Iranians too busy fighting on land to aim at ships. It’d basically be an open wound for USA though - completely unsustainable.
Then there’s the fantasy of naval escorts for tankers. Each tanker would require a couple of ships to shadow them (anti-air, anti-sub, anti-drone) for the entire length of the gulf (not just the strait) and in normal times 120 tankers pass through there every day. You’d need a fleet ~400 ships strong, running 24/7 (no repairs or rest). And it only takes one hit from an anti-ship missile and hundreds of sailors die. So that ain’t happening.
To do that they’d need to occupy 1000+ kms of extremely rugged coast. That’s quite a commitment…
Would that even be enough? Rockets and drones can come from far away
It’d stop them launching ships to lay mines, or launching midget submarines and naval drones, which is a start. It might keep the Iranians too busy fighting on land to aim at ships. It’d basically be an open wound for USA though - completely unsustainable.
Then there’s the fantasy of naval escorts for tankers. Each tanker would require a couple of ships to shadow them (anti-air, anti-sub, anti-drone) for the entire length of the gulf (not just the strait) and in normal times 120 tankers pass through there every day. You’d need a fleet ~400 ships strong, running 24/7 (no repairs or rest). And it only takes one hit from an anti-ship missile and hundreds of sailors die. So that ain’t happening.
It’s a trap.jpg
Sounds expensive