Operations to Defeat Iranian Maritime Trade Interdiction

Abstract

The Strait of Hormuz is vital to global economic stability due to the massive amounts of petroleum that are produced in the Arabian Gulf and only transportable by tanker. Iran has repeatedly threatened to close the Strait to traffic if provoked. The confined littoral battle space of the Strait is an extremely difficult tactical environment for the U.S. Navy. This paper examines the factors of time, space and force with regard to the operational design of a U.S. military plan to thwart Iranian aggression in the Strait. The evaluation of both tactical and economic factors is critical in this analysis. The conclusion reached is that the only logical outcome Iran hopes to achieve by attacking tankers in the Strait is to draw the U.S. Navy into the one place Iran believes it can be militarily successful. Through an understanding of Iranian aims and limitations the U.S. planner may craft an operational design which will defeat the Iranian strategy.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 04, 2009
Accession Number
ADA502907

Entities

People

  • Colin K. Boynton

Organizations

  • Naval War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Engineered Resilient Systems
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Defense
  • Air Force
  • Air Power
  • Environment
  • Interdiction
  • Military Operations
  • Military Organizations
  • Naval Operations
  • Naval Vessels
  • Naval Warfare
  • Navy
  • Petroleum
  • Sea Control
  • Tanker Aircraft
  • United States
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Nuclear Non-Proliferation and International Security
  • Strategic Security Studies
  • Systems Analysis and Design

Technology Areas

  • Space