In October 2000, a small fiberglass boat with just two men aboard pulled up alongside the US destroyer Cole in the port of Aden, Yemen. Before the crew could react, the boat exploded, ripping a 40-foot hole in the ship’s hull, killing 17 American sailors and wounding 39 others. The Cole nearly sank. The attackers were from Al Qaeda — a name most Americans barely knew at the time. It was a cheap, low-tech suicide attack that almost destroyed a modern $789 million warship. That disaster became a wake-up call for the US Navy.

Now, more than 25 years later, those hard lessons are being put to the test. US Navy destroyers are patrolling the waters south of the Strait of Hormuz as part of a blockade aimed at choking off Iran’s oil exports during the current conflict. If tensions turn into open fighting, the improved defenses developed after the Cole attack could make the difference between survival and disaster, said a NYT report.

Right after the Cole bombing, the Navy created a special task force called “Hip Pocket” to fix the vulnerabilities. They quickly added more machine guns, grenade launchers, and better short-range weapons to their ships. Today’s Arleigh Burke-class destroyers — the same type as the Cole — carry upgraded .50-caliber machine guns and 7.62mm guns for close-in defense. They also have new 5-inch gun shells designed to shred small boats at a distance with a shotgun-like spray of tungsten pellets.

These destroyers have also received upgrades to the Seahawk helicopters that are carried on board; the helicopters now have improved sensors and weapons that include Hellfire missiles and laser-guided rockets. The helicopters are now capable of flying hundreds of nautical miles away from the ship to detect and intercept potential threats at an earlier stage. The Navy has also improved its training and rules of engagement—when sailors are presented with small boats that appear to be suspicious, the sailors are now more likely to fire upon the suspicious vessel without waiting to be attacked first.

Still, experts say the threat has evolved. Iran has studied attacks like the one on the Cole and learned from its Houthi allies in Yemen, who have used remote-controlled explosive boats. Iran’s “mosquito fleet” of fast, agile small boats, combined with swarms of unmanned drones and anti-ship missiles launched from trucks on shore, could overwhelm defenses in the tight waters of the Strait of Hormuz.

According to a lead analyst at the Hudson Institute, while there are more effective anti-drone weapons than existing, the sheer number of drones (30-40) could still overwhelm any existing security infrastructure and would be impossible to stop. The US currently has approximately 12 Burke-class destroyers located in the Gulf of Oman and Arabian Sea, far (hundreds of miles) further from Iranian waters. Therefore, US Navy ships have much greater detection time before being engaged by enemy attack boats. In addition, US aircraft (both reconnaissance and strike aircraft — Reaper drone) will be able to provide advanced warning and may engage any hostile force attempting to attack the US Navy prior to their assault.

In the Black Sea, Ukraine has shown how effective cheap drones and missiles can be against a larger navy, sinking or forcing back much of Russia’s fleet. Iran is watching closely and has built up its own arsenal of fast boats, mines, and drones.

The Cole attack proved that a cheap, determined enemy with a small boat could nearly sink a high-tech warship. The changes made since then have given US ships better tools to fight back. Whether those improvements will be enough against a modern Iranian swarm attack remains to be seen if the blockade turns hot.

GetLatest NewsLive on Times Now along with Breaking News and Top Headlines fromUS Newsand around theWorld.

Working as Copy Editor at the Business Desk of Times Now Digital. Dedicated towards crafting interesting financial stories. Previously covered financi...View More

Source: India Latest News, Breaking News Today, Top News Headlines | Times Now