Comments on: Iran speedboats ‘threatened suicide attack on US’ in Strait of Hormuz

By: Rick

Rick — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 00:37:38 +0000

Heck, let our U.S. Navy sink their speedboats! We are ones with the Phalanx system.

By: Jägermeister

Jägermeister — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 21:04:01 +0000

The US Command of the 5th fleet is backing down from their stance on that the threat came from Iran… will this get any media attention in the US?

By: Rick Cain

Rick Cain — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 07:25:03 +0000

Now I’m not an expert at geography, but I do believe the Strait of Hormuz is a LOT closer to Iran than it is to the United States.

One has to wonder if Iran was parking capital warships a few miles off the USA coast, would we send only a speedboat to check them out?

By: Tdinde

Tdinde — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 01:50:45 +0000

They had no chance!!!!!!11

Phalanx is a point-defense, total-weapon system consisting of two 20mm gun mounts that provide a terminal defense against incoming air targets. CIWS, without assistance from other shipboard systems, will automatically engage incoming anti-ship missiles and high-speed, low-level aircraft that have penetrated the ship primary defense envelope. As a unitized system, CIWS automatically performs search, detecting, tracking, threat evaluation, firing, and kill assessments of targets while providing for manual override. Each gun mount houses a fire control assembly and a gun subsystem. The fire control assembly is composed of a search radar for surveillance and detection of hostile targets and a track radar for aiming the gun while tracking a target. The unique closed-loop fire control system that tracks both the incoming target and the stream of outgoing projectiles (by monitoring their incoming noise signature) gives CIWS the capability to correct its aim to hit fast-moving targets, including ASMs.

The gun subsystem employs a gatling gun consisting of a rotating cluster of six barrels. The gatling gun fires a 20mm subcaliber sabot projectile using a heavy-metal (either tungsten or depleted uranium) 15mm penetrator surrounded by a plastic sabot and a light-weight metal pusher. The gatling gun fires 20mm ammunition at either 3,000 or 4,500 rounds-per-minute with a burst length of continuous, 60, or 100 rounds.

By: Fade2Black

Fade2Black — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 01:31:09 +0000

Remember the USS Cole. Small Craft packed full of explosives are a very real threat.

By: Angus

Angus — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 22:57:19 +0000

sky news just released the video. Given the Yemen incident, I’d be nervous about speedboats running 40+ knots nearby too.

By: pedro

pedro — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 18:18:24 +0000

The best way to dismiss your government news on this subject is to learn Farsi. What are you waiting for?

By: GigG

GigG — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 15:33:03 +0000

BBC America covered this story very well last night.

It sounds to me that the Revolutionary Guard may be going off on their on every once in a while.

By: RTaylor

RTaylor — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 15:23:07 +0000

A captains number one concern is his command. I’m sure any ROE would allow the captain to neutralize any immanent threat. I’m sure these boats were tracked and targeted and a five inch shell or a gatling gun burst would end the threat.

By: MikeN

MikeN — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 15:01:31 +0000

Iran needs to do something like this every so often to keep the price of oil up.

By: Li

Li — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 14:39:22 +0000

#9 I would like to see that video, it isn’t on YouTube. There is the animation I’ve seen on CNN, but I’ve learned on Gizmodo that animations are a great way to sell vapor.

By: gquaglia

gquaglia — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 14:33:54 +0000

#14 What the hell are you talking about. Open passage of the straights of Hormuz has been a US Government imperative with both sides of the isle. I’m not buying your liberal, government hating crap.

By: Mister Catshit

Mister Catshit — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 14:19:35 +0000

First there is an arrogance to the idea that America owns where ever they tread. What all the chickenhawks don’t understand is that this is what has caused such disillusionment with the US internationally. If American warships have a right to patrol these waters, so do Iranian patrol vessels which happen to border the Straights.

Second, incidents like this are guaranteed to keep the price of oil high. This only benefits the Cheney cabal. Any buddy wanna bet this don’t happen agin real soon?

By: the answer

the answer — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 14:03:19 +0000

But an Iranian foreign ministry spokesman dismissed it is a routine incident. “This is an ordinary occurrence which happens every now and then for both sides,”

Well I am glad to hear that suicide bombers are a natural, daily occurrence in your backwards country. That makes me feel so much better.

By: keane-o

keane-o — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 13:08:18 +0000

Of course, #12 only needs to change two words to be a lot closer to the reality of today’s foreign policy.

Not that reality is especially important to dweebs who actually believe this neocon crap.