To counter maritime harassment, the United States military would use surface vessels and airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets to detect, avoid or eliminate those threats, experts said.
Navy and Iranian ships, drones have increased. Naval Forces Central Command. That said, one threat to U. President Hassan Rouhani and other dignitaries attend the inauguration of Fateh, "Conqueror" in Persian, Iranian made semi-heavy submarine in the southern port of Bandar Abbas, Iran, in February. The Fateh has subsurface-to-surface missiles with a range of about 2, kilometers 1, miles , capable of reaching Israel and U.
Iranian Presidency Office via AP. Another threat is the Iranian Ghadir-class minisub, a fleet of about 23 ton submersibles that are operated by a handful of crew and are capable of firing a couple of torpedoes. But renewed attacks by small vessels are still a serious threat. The constrained geography of the Gulf also gives ships short warning times to respond to such attacks, he said.
The Iranian Ghair-class has been somewhat of a success but lacks the staying power of U. As with anti-ship cruise missiles, Iran might not make a direct hit on a U. If the U. In the Iraq invasion, the United States sent an armada — five carrier battle groups, amphibious ready groups and two amphibious task forces. But any large-scale conflict would likely still require three carrier strike groups, Clark said, to free the U.
Instead, the Army will be orchestrating a vast logistics network bringing Patriot missile batteries, High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems and attack helicopters to bear on Iranian systems. Another key piece of work for soldiers will be providing protection and defense to key U.
And those proxy groups can hit U. They include battle-hardened groups such as Hezbollah, with deep ties to Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. They really made their bones bombing our guys. And they have weapons from advanced explosively formed penetrators that defeated some of the best counter-IED tech to rockets and other ways to harass U.
The U. Central Command said on background. Any work that would be done behind enemy lines to disable missile threats, breaking supply lines or taking out nuclear fuel development sites would be taken on by special operations forces across the services.
That would include targeting, securing high risk areas such as nuclear sites, establishing forward airfields inside Iran conducting deep reconnaissance on the ground.
It would look similar to work they did did during the Persian Gulf War where teams hunted down SCUD launchers being moved around Iraq to strike at Israel, hoping to pull them into the war and ignite a regional conflict. Any air campaign against Iran would be vastly different from past U. To defeat their air defense and early warning systems, the United States would have to physically destroy them or disrupt them through electronic warfare.
To get close to advanced air defenses, aircraft must decrease their radar signature as much as possible. Bombing Iran would therefore require stealth aircraft to circumvent its Russian-made S missile systems air defense systems, and domestically produced Bavar surface-to-air missiles.
Countering those weapons systems would require the F and Fs due to their stealth capabilities, according to Deptula, the retired U. Air Force three-star general. Staff Sgt. Strategic surprise is difficult to achieve these days, Deptula said, meaning the movement of necessary aircraft into theater would be well-known. Iran has up to 50 medium range ballistic missile launchers and up to short range ballistic missile launchers, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, a UK-based think tank.
Iran is also testing space technology to allow it to develop longer range inter-continental missiles, according to the US report. The long-range missile programme was put on hold by Iran following the nuclear deal, according to the Royal United Services Institute Rusi , but this may now have resumed given the uncertainty surrounding that deal.
In any case, many targets in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf would be within range of Iran's current short and medium-range missiles, and possibly targets in Israel as well.
This is meant to counter ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and advanced aircraft. There are a further 20, service personnel in the IRGC's naval forces. This group operates a number of armed patrol boats in the Strait of Hormuz, the site of several confrontations involving foreign-flagged tankers in This unit can potentially mobilise many hundreds of thousands of personnel.
The IRGC was set up 40 years ago to defend the Islamic system in Iran and has become a major military, political and economic force in its own right. Despite having fewer troops than the regular army, it is considered the most authoritative military force in Iran. It's believed to be about 5, strong. The unit has been deployed to Syria, where it advised military elements loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and armed Shia militias fighting with them.
In Iraq, it has supported a Shia-dominated paramilitary force which assisted in the defeat of IS. However, the US says the Quds force has a wider role by providing funding, training, weapons and equipment to organisations that Washington has designated as terrorist groups in the Middle East. Economic problems and sanctions have hampered Iran's arms imports, which are relatively small compared to those of other countries in the region.
The value of Iran's defence imports between and was equivalent to just 3. Most Iranian imports come from Russia, and the rest from China. Iran does not currently have a nuclear weapons programme, and has previously said it does not want one. But it does have many of the elements required and the knowledge to create a military nuclear capability. In , the US government under President Obama estimated that Iran only needed two to three months to produce enough nuclear material to make a weapon.
If true, Israel and much of eastern Europe would be within range. In January , Iran said it had tested a new air-to-air missile. Then on March 7, , Iran said it had started producing short-range cruise missiles it described as highly accurate and able to destroy heavy targets. The Revolutionary Guards have 24 launchers — of which 12 to 18 are for the short-range Shahab , and at least six are for the Shahab-3, Ghadr-1 and Sajjil There is a greater likelihood of Iranian missiles accurately targeting Arab states in the Gulf, but Israel is far away.
During war games in early January , Iran tested medium-range surface-to-air missiles in the Gulf which were domestically designed and built. Delivery means include Jericho-2 intermediate-range ballistic missiles and Jericho-1 short-range missiles. It is believed to have in the range of nuclear warheads that it can launch with intercontinental ballistic missiles ICBM. On November 2, , Israel test-fired an ICBM thought to be an upgraded Jericho-3 from the Palmachim base, with a potential payload of 1,kg and capable of reaching as far as South America or Oceania.
The next day, Israel staged a mass civil defence drill simulating a missile attack in the centre of the country. By Ben Piven. Published On 24 Apr More from Features. COP Could oysters help to save Bangladesh from rising seas?
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