WHY IRAN CANNOT SINK A US SUPER CARRIER ? TOP 5 FACTS

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• published: 06 Nov 2017
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INTRODUCTION: Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy Commander Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi downplayed Washington’s military buildup in the Persian Gulf, and had said the IRGC speedboats have the needed capability to sink the US aircraft carriers. Fadavi had said in a meeting with a delegation of Oman’s National Defense College in Tehran: "The US is not in such conditions that it can threaten us in action, yet it continues making verbal threats," Lieutenant Commander of the IRGC Navy General Alireza Tangsiri said: Iran has armed IRGC Navy’s speed boats with long-range ‘Qader’ cruise missiles which can destroy maritime targets including frigates and warships. In the Noble Prophet 9 exercises conducted in the Straits of Hormuz, Iran constructed a mock aircraft carrier and proceeded to attack it. The attack was carried out with anti ship missiles, mines and a simulated commando raid, which involved troops landing on the flight deck via helicopter and attacking the carrier’s superstructure. But a test scenario is different from real life war. In this video, Defense Updates analyzes WHY IRAN CANNOT SINK A US SUPER CARRIER ? IMPROVEMENT Iran's naval power has even been acknowledged by foes. In a Sep. 11, 2008 report, the Washington Institute for the Near East Policy said that in the two decades since the Iraqi imposed war on Iran, the IRGC has excelled in naval capabilities and is able to wage unique asymmetric warfare against larger naval forces. SUPER CARRIERS The Nimitz-class super carriers are a class of 10 nuclear-powered aircraft carriers in service with the United States Navy, apart from that US has recently commissioned the USS Gerald Ford. All these have displacement of around 100000 tons, and overall length of 332.8 m (1,092 feet). To give viewers a perspective, it is about 3 football fields long. SPEED BOATS While the threat that small boats pose to major warships has been apparent for some time, the Pentagon’s Millennium Challenge 2002 exercise brought the issue to mainstream attention. In that controversial exercise, small fast boats carrying suicide payloads inflicted heavy damage on U.S. naval forces. US Navy has updated its strategy to counter these kinds of attacks. Most small boats lack the range to find and successfully attack aircraft carriers in the open sea. Any boats that did find a carrier battle group would need to navigate a formation of well-armed helicopters and escort warships, most of which would boast actual Phalanx gun systems that could chew small vessels to pieces. QADER MISSILE The Qader supersonic missile developed by Iran has a range of about 185 miles or 300 km, is self-guided, and can maneuver to lock onto a moving target. The missile is cheap, easy to launch and can be deployed in “swarms.” Together with decoys and chaff. Here are the technical problems of using this missile : 1. 185 miles or 300 km means that anything in the Persian Gulf is within easy range of the missile. But outside the Persian Gulf, in the Gulf of Oman, the US Navy can romp with ease, beyond the range of the Iranian threat, but well within the operational range of the US carriers. The launch platforms of these missile could be neutralized from far off. 2. Inside the Persian Gulf also, there is a problem. The missile’s maneuverability is limited because the steering fins are small, to avoid drag during supersonic flight. Therefore, the missile can make steering corrections of perhaps 1/2 mile in the last few miles of approach. This probably explains why all tests so far, have been with static targets. US carrier on the other hand will perform evasive maneuvers. Though massive , US aircraft carrier can move surprisingly fast with a top speed of more than 30 knots, or about 35 miles an hour. 3. The missile has a 200-kilogram warhead. The warhead could potentially damage a super carrier but won’t be able to sink it since the carrier are designed with compartments and the damaged parts can be sealed off. STRIKE FORCE Arleigh Burke-class warships are designed as multi mission destroyers capable of Anti Aircraft Warfare (AAW), Anti Submarine Warfare (ASW), Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) and Anti Surface warfare (ASuW). Arleigh Burke class destroyers are among the largest destroyers in the world. Virginia class is designed to take out enemy surface vessel, submarines as well can strike ground targets. Boeing E-3 is designed to provide a holistic view of the battle space and will be able to detect incoming missiles from long ranges. CONCLUSION: The QADER missile could somehow manage to get past all the sophisticated security and anti-missile protection on the carrier and get a lucky hit on a vulnerable spot, but that is highly unlikely. Even if it happens, the carrier will not sink. Audio by Scott Leffler — scottleffler.com