Iran Kicks off War Games in 7,000-Mile Persian Gulf Area:
Iran has a token force of a few frigates, subs, patrol craft, and missile boats, but those would quickly disappear in the event of a shooting war with the US-British-Australian fighting ships that patrol the gulf. The only value in Iranian symmetrical assets seems to be for PR purposes, which is evident in the silly, canned state-run news story quoted above. However in asymmetrical warfare, the Iranian navy shows its fangs. Their primary mission is area denial, keeping enemies off of their islands and coastlines by using an aggressive swarming tactic. Iran has hundreds of small craft at its disposal, designed to overwhelm larger destroyers, frigates, and even carriers. A navy buddy of mine compared it to biplanes attacking King Kong. Because we’re vulnerable to this, the occasional show of force in the contained waters of the Persian Gulf is an indicator that the threat of war with Iran is low, not high. It’s when we sortie our carriers into the open blue of the Indian Ocean that’s the real precursor to potential combat ops.
