Could Iran Sink a U.S. Navy Aircraft Carrier?

Dave Majumdar

Security,

A lucky shot could have damaged the massive ship and the aircraft carried onboard.

The United States is accusing Iran of testing rockets near one of its aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf as it passed through the Straits of Hormuz. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) denounced the Iranian actions as “highly provocative.” But could Iran actually sink one of the U.S. Navy’s mighty flattops?

According to CENTCOM, Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) naval vessels conducted live-fire drills less than 1,500 yards away from the Nimitz-class carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75), the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Bulkeley (DDG-84) destroyer and the French frigate FS Provence on Saturday. Moreover, civilian shipping traffic was in the area.

“Firing weapons so close to passing coalition ships and commercial traffic within an internationally recognized maritime traffic lane is unsafe, unprofessional and inconsistent with international maritime law,” said CENTCOM spokesman Commander Kyle Raines in a statement. He noted, however, that the Iranians were clearly not firing in the direction of the U.S. ships.

The Straits of Hormuz are a natural chokepoint for entry into the Persian Gulf. The channel is only about twenty-one miles wide at its narrowest while the shipping lane is about two miles wide. There is also a two-mile buffer zone on either side of the sea lane. The narrow straits are an ideal point for Tehran to make an attempt at blocking access to the Persian Gulf or to ambush allied naval forces—which indeed it attempted during the 1980s.

According to CENTCOM, the handful of IRGC vessels fired unguided rockets—which are not especially threatening to a vessel the size of USS Harry S. Truman in small numbers. However, a lucky shot could have damaged the massive ship and the aircraft carried onboard. At such close range, even unguided weapons have a decent chance of hitting a target. At best, the Iranian boats might have achieved a “mission kill” on the U.S. and French vessels. It’s very unlikely that the IRGC vessels could have actually sunk Harry S. Truman or its escorts.

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