Iranian Missiles Vs. US Ships: Does Iran have the Advantage?
An interesting analysis can be found here on Iran’s missile capabilities and how vulnerable US ships in the Persian Gulf will be should war break out. While the whole article is worth reading, here are a few interesting excerpts:
The Sunburn is perhaps the most lethal anti-ship missile in the world (see also here), designed to fly as low as nine feet above groundwater level and at more than 1,500 miles per hour. The missile uses a jerky pop-up maneuver for its terminal approach. This enables it in effect to dodge, or jump out of the way, of the Phalanx and other anti-missile defense systems: in short, to hit its target bang-on without being intercepted en route.
Given their low cost, these ship missiles are perfectly suited for close quarter naval conflict in the pond like environment of the Persian Gulf.
The Sunburn is versatile and easy to use. It can be fired from practically any platform, including the back of a flatbed truck. It has a 100-mile range, which is all that is necessary in the narrow Persian Gulf, with its 40-mile width round the Strait of Hormuz.
Fired from shore, the Sunburn will punch a room-sized hole through any ship in the Strait of Hormuz in a fraction of a second.
These missiles therefore present a serious threat to the US Navy. Their power to inflict horrendous damage on hostile intruders simply cannot be exaggerated.
Developed by the Russians, and made fully available to China and Iran, the SS-N-22 Sunburn, a supersonic anti-ship missile, has been described as “the most lethal missile in the world today.” (See also here for other anti-ship missiles designed, built, or operated by Iran. See here for a discussion of anti-ship missiles and US capability to defend against them.)
Compared to the Exocet, the Sunburn is a much larger and faster missile. It possesses a far greater range. Its guidance system is spot-on. The Sunburn can deliver a 200-kiloton nuclear payload (a 750-pound conventional warhead) within a range of 100 miles, more than twice the range of the Exocet. It seems the missile was specifically designed to defeat the US Aegis radar defense system.
The Sunburn’s astonishing accuracy was demonstrated recently in a live test staged at sea by the Chinese and observed by US spy planes. Not only did the Sunburn missile destroy the dummy target ship, it scored a perfect bull’s eye. It succeeded in hitting the crosshairs of a large “X” mounted on the ship’s bridge.
Unlike America’s drones, the Sunburn is not in the business of creating “collateral damage.” It does not kill innocent civilians by the score. It kills only the enemy.
In addition to the above, the writer also makes some interesting points about the US/Israeli relationship. Again, it's worth the read in its entirety.
Of course, the situation in the Persian Gulf really puts Obama between a rock and a hard place. Consider: Here we have Israel going all-out for a war with Iran, trying to pressure the US to join along like the good little puppet it usually is. And if only Obama cooperates and attacks Iran, he will be assured lots of Jewish money for his reelection. But getting into a new war will certainly erode his support among his “base” and jeopardize his reelection chances. It is a bit of a conundrum, is it not? He needs Jewish money to get reelected—but starting another war is not going to get people excited about going out and voting for him. That, plus the dreadful state of the economy, could throw the race to the Republican nominee. So what is poor Obama to do? Maybe a pardon of a convicted spy could be the answer. And after all, who in Washington is likely to care that Jonathan Pollard, spy for Israel, is a traitor to his country? One easily gets the feeling that such matters are not of terribly great concern to the shameless overseers in our nation’s capital.
Or we could get a demonstration of the real extent of Zionist power in America—in which case we might get the war with Iran and the pardon too.
Categories: Analysis
Tags: Israeli lobby war World War III Drums of War Iran
Obama would not announce the pardon of Pollard in his speech at the upcoming AIPAC conference, would he? That would be too blatant. Considering that most Americans don't even know who Pollard is and that the MSM most likely would say very little about it, you never know.
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Yes, come to think of it the AIPAC conference would make a great venue for the big announcement. Wonder if Netanyahu will make another appearance before Congress? Should be interesting to see how many standing ovations he gets this year as compared with last year.
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