Read the Beforeitsnews.com story here. Advertise at Before It's News here.
Profile image
By CoyotePrime (Reporter)
Contributor profile | More stories
Story Views
Now:
Last hour:
Last 24 hours:
Total:

The Sunburn Missile: The Weapon That Could Defeat The US In The Gulf

% of readers think this story is Fact. Add your two cents.


 “The Sunburn – Iran’s Awesome Nuclear Anti-Ship Missile
The Weapon That Could Defeat The US In The Gulf”

By Mark Gaffney

“A word to the reader: The following paper is so shocking that, after preparing the initial draft, I didn’t want to believe it myself, and resolved to disprove it with more research. However, I only succeeded in turning up more evidence in support of my thesis. And I repeated this cycle of discovery and denial several more times before finally deciding to go with the article. I believe that a serious writer must follow the trail of evidence, no matter where it leads, and report back. So here is my story. Don’t be surprised if it causes you to squirm. Its purpose is not to make predictions history makes fools of those who claim to know the future but simply to describe the peril that awaits us in the Persian Gulf. By awakening to the extent of that danger, perhaps we can still find a way to save our nation and the world from disaster. If we are very lucky, we might even create an alternative future that holds some promise of resolving the monumental conflicts of our time. – MG

In July, 2004, they dubbed it operation Summer Pulse: a simultaneous mustering of US Naval forces, world wide, that was unprecedented. According to the Navy, it was the first exercise of its new Fleet Response Plan (FRP), the purpose of which was to enable the Navy to respond quickly to an international crisis. The Navy wanted to show its increased force readiness, that is, its capacity to rapidly move combat power to any global hot spot. Never in the history of the US Navy had so many carrier battle groups been involved in a single operation. Even the US fleet massed in the Gulf and eastern Mediterranean during operation Desert Storm in 1991, and in the recent invasion of Iraq, never exceeded six battle groups. But last July and August there were seven of them on the move, each battle group consisting of a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier with its full complement of 7-8 supporting ships, and 70 or more assorted aircraft. Most of the activity, according to various reports, was in the Pacific, where the fleet participated in joint exercises with the Taiwanese navy.

But why so much naval power underway at the same time? What potential world crisis could possibly require more battle groups than were deployed during the recent invasion of Iraq? In past years, when the US has seen fit to “show the flag” or flex its naval muscle, one or two carrier groups have sufficed. Why this global show of power? The news headlines about the joint-maneuvers in the South China Sea read: “Saber Rattling Unnerves China”, and: “Huge Show of Force Worries Chinese.” But the reality was quite different, and, as we shall see, has grave ramifications for the continuing US military presence in the Persian Gulf; because operation Summer Pulse reflected a high-level Pentagon decision that an unprecedented show of strength was needed to counter what is viewed as a growing threat in the particular case of China, because of Peking’s newest Sovremenny-class destroyers recently acquired from Russia.

“Nonsense!” you are probably thinking. That’s impossible. How could a few picayune destroyers threaten the US Pacific fleet?” Here is where the story thickens: Summer Pulse amounted to a tacit acknowledgement, obvious to anyone paying attention, that the United States has been eclipsed in an important area of military technology, and that this qualitative edge is now being wielded by others, including the Chinese; because those otherwise very ordinary destroyers were, in fact, launching platforms for Russian-made 3M-82 Moskit anti-ship cruise missiles (NATO designation: SS-N-22 Sunburn), a weapon for which the US Navy currently has no defense. Here I am not suggesting that the US status of lone world Superpower has been surpassed. I am simply saying that a new global balance of power is emerging, in which other individual states may, on occasion, achieve “an asymmetric advantage” over the US. 


The Sunburn Missile: I was shocked when I learned the facts about these Russian-made cruise missiles. The problem is that so many of us suffer from two common misperceptions. The first follows from our assumption that Russia is militarily weak, as a result of the breakup of the old Soviet system. Actually, this is accurate, but it does not reflect the complexities. Although the Russian navy continues to rust in port, and the Russian army is in disarray, in certain key areas Russian technology is actually superior to our own. And nowhere is this truer than in the vital area of anti-ship cruise missile technology, where the Russians hold at least a ten-year lead over the US. The second misperception has to do with our complacency in general about missiles-as-weapons probably attributable to the pathetic performance of Saddam Hussein’s Scuds during the first Gulf war: a dangerous illusion that I will now attempt to rectify.

Many years ago, Soviet planners gave up trying to match the US Navy ship for ship, gun for gun, and dollar for dollar. The Soviets simply could not compete with the high levels of US spending required to build up and maintain a huge naval armada. They shrewdly adopted an alternative approach based on strategic defense. They searched for weaknesses, and sought relatively inexpensive ways to exploit those weaknesses. The Soviets succeeded: by developing several supersonic anti-ship missiles, one of which, the SS-N-22 Sunburn, has been called “the most lethal missile in the world today.”

After the collapse of the Soviet Union the old military establishment fell upon hard times. But in the late1990s Moscow awakened to the under-utilized potential of its missile technology to generate desperately needed foreign exchange. A decision was made to resuscitate selected programs, and, very soon, Russian missile technology became a hot export commodity. Today, Russian missiles are a growth industry generating much-needed cash for Russia, with many billions in combined sales to India, China, Viet Nam, Cuba, and also Iran. In the near future this dissemination of advanced technology is likely to present serious challenges to the US. Some have even warned that the US Navy’s largest ships, the massive carriers, have now become floating death traps, and should for this reason be mothballed.

The Sunburn missile has never seen use in combat, to my knowledge, which probably explains why its fearsome capabilities are not more widely recognized. Other cruise missiles have been used, of course, on several occasions, and with devastating results. During the Falklands War, French-made Exocet missiles, fired from Argentine fighters, sunk the HMS Sheffield and another ship. And, in 1987, during the Iran-Iraq war, the USS Stark was nearly cut in half by a pair of Exocets while on patrol in the Persian Gulf. On that occasion US Aegis radar picked up the incoming Iraqi fighter (a French-made Mirage), and tracked its approach to within 50 miles. The radar also “saw” the Iraqi plane turn about and return to its base. But radar never detected the pilot launch his weapons. The sea-skimming Exocets came smoking in under radar and were only sighted by human eyes moments before they ripped into the Stark, crippling the ship and killing 37 US sailors.

The 1987 surprise attack on the Stark exemplifies the dangers posed by anti-ship cruise missiles. And the dangers are much more serious in the case of the Sunburn, whose specs leave the sub-sonic Exocet in the dust. Not only is the Sunburn much larger and faster, it has far greater range and a superior guidance system. Those who have witnessed its performance trials invariably come away stunned. According to one report, when the Iranian Defense Minister Ali Shamkhani visited Moscow in October 2001 he requested a test firing of the Sunburn, which the Russians were only too happy to arrange. So impressed was Ali Shamkhani that he placed an order for an undisclosed number of the missiles.

The Sunburn can deliver a 200-kiloton nuclear payload or a 750-pound conventional warhead, within a range of 100 miles, more than twice the range of the Exocet. The Sunburn combines a Mach 2.1 speed (two times the speed of sound) with a flight pattern that hugs the deck and includes “violent end maneuvers” to elude enemy defenses. The missile was specifically designed to defeat the US Aegis radar defense system. Should a US Navy Phalanx point defense somehow manage to detect an incoming Sunburn missile, the system has only seconds to calculate a fire solution not enough time to take out the intruding missile. The US Phalanx defense employs a six-barreled gun that fires 3,000 depleted-uranium rounds a minute, but the gun must have precise coordinates to destroy an intruder “just in time.”

The Sunburn’s combined supersonic speed and payload size produce tremendous kinetic energy on impact, with devastating consequences for ship and crew. A single one of these missiles can sink a large warship, yet costs considerably less than a fighter jet. Although the Navy has been phasing out the older Phalanx defense system, its replacement, known as the Rolling Action Missile (RAM) has never been tested against the weapon it seems destined to one day face in combat. Implications For US Forces in the Gulf

The US Navy’s only plausible defense against a robust weapon like the Sunburn missile is to detect the enemy’s approach well ahead of time, whether destroyers, subs, or fighter-bombers, and defeat them before they can get in range and launch their deadly cargo. For this purpose US AWACs radar planes assigned to each naval battle group are kept aloft on a rotating schedule. The planes “see” everything within two hundred miles of the fleet, and are complemented with intelligence from orbiting satellites.

But US naval commanders operating in the Persian Gulf face serious challenges that are unique to the littoral, i.e., coastal, environment. A glance at a map shows why: The Gulf is nothing but a large lake, with one narrow outlet, and most of its northern shore, i.e., Iran, consists of mountainous terrain that affords a commanding tactical advantage over ships operating in Gulf waters. The rugged northern shore makes for easy concealment of coastal defenses, such as mobile missile launchers, and also makes their detection problematic. Although it was not widely reported, the US actually lost the battle of the Scuds in the first Gulf War termed “the great Scud hunt” and for similar reasons.

Saddam Hussein’s mobile Scud launchers proved so difficult to detect and destroy over and over again the Iraqis fooled allied reconnaissance with decoys that during the course of Desert Storm the US was unable to confirm even a single kill. This proved such an embarrassment to the Pentagon, afterwards, that the unpleasant stats were buried in official reports. But the blunt fact is that the US failed to stop the Scud attacks. The launches continued until the last few days of the conflict. Luckily, the Scud’s inaccuracy made it an almost useless weapon. At one point General Norman Schwarzkopf quipped dismissively to the press that his soldiers had a greater chance of being struck by lightning in Georgia than by a Scud in Kuwait.

But that was then, and it would be a grave error to allow the Scud’s ineffectiveness to blur the facts concerning this other missile. The Sunburn’s amazing accuracy was demonstrated not long ago 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, hitting the crosshairs of a large “X” mounted on the ship’s bridge. The only word that does it justice, awesome, has become a cliché, hackneyed from hyperbolic excess.

The US Navy has never faced anything in combat as formidable as the Sunburn missile. But this will surely change if the US and Israel decide to wage a so-called preventive war against Iran to destroy its nuclear infrastructure. Storm clouds have been darkening over the Gulf for many months. In recent years Israel upgraded its air force with a new fleet of long-range F-15 fighter-bombers, and even more recently took delivery of 5,000 bunker-buster bombs from the US weapons that many observers think are intended for use against Iran.

The arming for war has been matched by threats. Israeli officials have declared repeatedly that they will not allow the Mullahs to develop nuclear power, not even reactors to generate electricity for peaceful use. Their threats are particularly worrisome, because Israel has a long history of pre-emptive war. Never mind that such a determination is not Israel’s to make, and belongs instead to the international community, as codified in the Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT). With regard to Iran, the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA’s) recent report (September 2004) is well worth a look, as it repudiates facile claims by the US and Israel that Iran is building bombs. While the report is highly critical of Tehran for its ambiguities and its grudging release of documents, it affirms that IAEA inspectors have been admitted to every nuclear site in the country to which they have sought access, without exception. Last year Iran signed the strengthened IAEA inspection protocol, which until then had been voluntary. And the IAEA has found no hard evidence, to date, either that bombs exist or that Iran has made a decision to build them.

In a talk on October 3, 2004, IAEA Director General Mohamed El Baradei made the clearest statement yet: “Iran has no nuclear weapons program”, he said, and then repeated himself for emphasis: “Iran has no nuclear weapons program, but I personally don’t rush to conclusions before all the realities are clarified. So far I see nothing that could be called an imminent danger. I have seen no nuclear weapons program in Iran. What I have seen is that Iran is trying to gain access to nuclear enrichment technology, and so far there is no danger from Iran. Therefore, we should make use of political and diplomatic means before thinking of resorting to other alternatives.” No one disputes that Tehran is pursuing a dangerous path, but with 200 or more Israeli nukes targeted upon them the Iranians’ insistence on keeping their options open is understandable. Clearly, the nuclear nonproliferation regime today hangs by the slenderest of threads. The world has arrived at a fateful crossroads.

A Fearful Symmetry? If a showdown over Iran develops in the coming months, the man who could hold the outcome in his hands will be thrust upon the world stage. That man, like him or hate him, is Russian President Vladimir Putin. He has been castigated severely in recent months for gathering too much political power to himself. But according to former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, who was interviewed on US television recently by David Brokaw, Putin has not imposed a tyranny upon Russia yet. Gorbachev thinks the jury is still out on Putin.

Perhaps, with this in mind, we should be asking whether Vladimir Putin is a serious student of history. If he is, then he surely recognizes that the deepening crisis in the Persian Gulf presents not only manifold dangers, but also opportunities. Be assured that the Russian leader has not forgotten the humiliating defeat Ronald Reagan inflicted upon the old Soviet state. (Have we Americans forgotten?) By the mid-1980s the Soviets were in Kabul, and had all but defeated the Mujahedeen. The Soviet Union appeared secure in its military occupation of Afghanistan. But then, in 1986, the first US Stinger missiles reached the hands of the Afghani resistance; and, quite suddenly, Soviet helicopter gunships and MiGs began dropping out of the skies like flaming stones. The tide swiftly turned, and by 1989 it was all over but the hand wringing and gnashing of teeth in the Kremlin. Defeated, the Soviets slunk back across the frontier. The whole world cheered the American Stingers, which had carried the day.

This very night, as he sips his cognac, what is Vladimir Putin thinking? Is he perhaps thinking about the perverse symmetries of history? If so, he may also be wondering (and discussing with his closest aides) how a truly great nation like the United States could be so blind and so stupid as to allow another state, i.e., Israel, to control its foreign policy, especially in a region as vital (and volatile) as the Mid-East. One can almost hear the Russians’ animated conversation: “The Americans! What is the matter with them?” “They simply cannot help themselves.” “What idiots!” “A nation as foolish as this deserves to be taught a lesson.” “Yes! For their own good.” “It must be a painful lesson, one they will never forget. “Are we agreed, then, comrades?” “Let us teach our American friends a lesson about the limits of military power…”

Does anyone really believe that Vladimir Putin will hesitate to seize a most rare opportunity to change the course of history and, in the bargain, take his sweet revenge? Surely Putin understands the terrible dimensions of the trap into which the US has blundered, thanks to the Israelis and their neo-con supporters in Washington who lobbied so vociferously for the 2003 invasion of Iraq, against all friendly and expert advice, and who even now beat the drums of war against Iran. Would Putin be wrong to conclude that the US will never leave the region unless it is first defeated militarily? Should we blame him for deciding that Iran is “one bridge too far”? If the US and Israel overreach, and the Iranians close the net with Russian anti-ship missiles, it will be a fearful symmetry, indeed.

Springing the Trap: At the battle of Cannae in 216 BC, the great Carthaginian general, Hannibal, tempted a much larger Roman army into a fateful advance, and then enveloped and annihilated it with a smaller force. Out of a Roman army of 70,000 men, no more than a few thousand escaped. It was said that after many hours of dispatching the Romans, Hannibal’s soldiers grew so tired that the fight went out of them. In their weariness they granted the last broken and bedraggled Romans their lives.

Let us pray that the US sailors who are unlucky enough to be on duty in the Persian Gulf when the shooting starts can escape the fate of the Roman army at Cannae. The odds will be heavily against them, however, because they will face the same type of danger, tantamount to envelopment. The US ships in the Gulf will already have come within range of the Sunburn missiles and the even more-advanced SS-NX-26 Yakhonts missiles, also Russian-made (speed: Mach 2.9; range: 180 miles) deployed by the Iranians along the Gulf’s northern shore. Every US ship will be exposed and vulnerable. When the Iranians spring the trap, the entire lake will become a killing field.

Anti-ship cruise missiles are not new, as I’ve mentioned. Nor have they yet determined the outcome in a conflict. But this is probably only because these horrible weapons have never been deployed in sufficient numbers. At the time of the Falklands war the Argentine air force possessed only five Exocets, yet managed to sink two ships. With enough of them, the Argentineans might have sunk the entire British fleet, and won the war. Although we’ve never seen a massed attack of cruise missiles, this is exactly what the US Navy could face in the next war in the Gulf.

Try and imagine it if you can: barrage after barrage of Exocet-class missiles, which the Iranians are known to possess in the hundreds, as well as the unstoppable Sunburn and Yakhonts missiles. The questions that our purblind government leaders should be asking themselves, today, if they value what historians will one day write about them, are two: how many of the Russian anti-ship missiles has Putin already supplied to Iran? And: How many more are currently in the pipeline?

In 2001, Jane’s Defense Weekly reported that Iran was attempting to acquire anti-ship missiles from Russia. Ominously, the same report also mentioned that the more advanced Yakhonts missile was “optimized for attacks against carrier task forces.” Apparently its guidance system is “able to distinguish an aircraft carrier from its escorts.” The numbers were not disclosed.

The US Navy will come under fire even if the US does not participate in the first so-called surgical raids on Iran’s nuclear sites, that is, even if Israel goes it alone. Israel’s brand-new fleet of 25 F-15s (paid for by American taxpayers) has sufficient range to target Iran, but the Israelis cannot mount an attack without crossing US-occupied Iraqi air space. It will hardly matter if Washington gives the green light, or is dragged into the conflict by a recalcitrant Israel. Either way, the result will be the same. The Iranians will interpret US acquiescence as complicity, and, in any event, they will understand that the real fight is with the Americans. The Iranians will be entirely within their rights to counter-attack in self-defense. Most of the world will see it this way, and will support them, not America. The US and Israel will be viewed as the aggressors, even as the unfortunate US sailors in harm’s way become cannon fodder. In the Gulf’s shallow and confined waters evasive maneuvers will be difficult, at best, and escape impossible. Even if US planes control of the skies over the battlefield, the sailors caught in the net below will be hard-pressed to survive. The Gulf will run red with American blood.

From here, it only gets worse. Armed with their Russian-supplied cruise missiles, the Iranians will close the lake’s only outlet, the strategic Strait of Hormuz, cutting off the trapped and dying Americans from help and rescue. The US fleet massing in the Indian Ocean will stand by helplessly, unable to enter the Gulf to assist the survivors or bring logistical support to the other US forces on duty in Iraq. Couple this with a major new ground offensive by the Iraqi insurgents, and, quite suddenly, the tables could turn against the Americans in Baghdad. As supplies and ammunition begin to run out, the status of US forces in the region will become precarious. The occupiers will become the besieged.

With enough anti-ship missiles, the Iranians can halt tanker traffic through Hormuz for weeks, even months. With the flow of oil from the Gulf curtailed, the price of a barrel of crude will skyrocket on the world market. Within days the global economy will begin to grind to a halt. Tempers at an emergency round-the-clock session of the UN Security Council will flare and likely explode into shouting and recriminations as French, German, Chinese and even British ambassadors angrily accuse the US of allowing Israel to threaten world order. But, as always, because of the US veto the world body will be powerless to act… America will stand alone, completely isolated.

Yet, despite the increasingly hostile international mood, elements of the US media will spin the crisis very differently here at home, in a way that is sympathetic to Israel. Members of Congress will rise to speak in the House and Senate, and rally to Israel’s defense, while blaming the victim of the attack, Iran. Fundamentalist Christian talk show hosts will proclaim the historic fulfillment of biblical prophecy in our time, and will call upon the Jews of Israel to accept Jesus into their hearts; meanwhile, urging the president to nuke the evil empire of Islam. From across America will be heard histrionic cries for fresh reinforcements, even a military draft. Patriots will demand victory at any cost. Pundits will scream for an escalation of the conflict. A war that ostensibly began as an attempt to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons will teeter on the brink of their use.

Conclusion: Friends, we must work together to prevent such a catastrophe. We must stop the next Middle East war before it starts. The US government must turn over to the United Nations the primary responsibility for resolving the deepening crisis in Iraq, and, immediately thereafter, withdraw US forces from the country. We must also prevail upon the Israelis to sign the Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) and open all of their nuclear sites to IAEA inspectors. Only then can serious talks begin with Iran and other states to establish a nuclear weapon free zone (NWFZ) in the Mid East so essential to the region’s long-term peace and security.”

- http://www.rense.com/

This was originally posted on 11-2-4, and due to ongoing improvements in the design capabilities of this missile system the threat is even more lethal today. And we’d get into this for what, exactly? “Democracy”, “freedom”, like we’ve given to Iraq? No, folks, it’s about oil and natural gas, resources which we’re competing for, and money, always money. Only a damned fool would be willing to die for Exxon/Mobil, BP and the rest of that lot…- CP
 •
“Iran’s Arsenal Of Sunburn Missiles Is More 
Than Enough To Close The Strait of Hormuz”
by Jim Campbell

“The Sunburn is perhaps the most lethal anti-ship missile in the world, designed to fly as low as 9 feet above ground/water at more than 1,500 miles per hour (mach 2+).  The missile uses a violent pop-up maneuver for its terminal approach to throw off Phalanx and other U.S. anti-missile defense systems. Given their low cost, they’re perfectly suited for close quarter naval conflict in the bathtub-like Persian Gulf.

The Sunburn is versatile, and can be fired from practically any platform, including just a flat bed truck. It has a 90-mile range, which is all that is necessary in the small Persian Gulf and 40-mile-wide Strait of Hormuz.  Fired from shore a missile could hit a ship in the Strait in less than a minute. It presents a real threat to the U.S. Navy. Tests using the Aegean and RAM ship defense technology stops the Sunburn 95% of the time, but such testing was done in open seas, not a bathtub. The payload hit with a 750-pound conventional warhead  can be witnessed at 1:53-1:57 in this video. Not enough to sink a carrier, but it could take down smaller capital ships and crew.

You don’t have to be Hannibal preparing for the Battle of Cannae to see that the Strait is a potential shooting gallery. Without a doubt, Iran has plotted and mapped every firing angle and location along the Gulf, their home-court coastline. This is going to put enormous interdiction pressure on U.S. warplanes to spot and destroy platforms, which may be as simple as a flat-bed truck. In reality, Iran has dug in from Jask in the east to Bandar in the west and can easily cover any ship, commercial or military, traversing the narrow Strait.

Equally disturbing is Iran’s missile range for the entire Persian Gulf. Bahrain itself could be hit by the longer-range version of the Sunburn, the Onyx. Is the U.S. (which has three aircraft carrier groups in play currently) going to stick around or clear out to the Oman Sea, leaving control of the oil lanes to Iran? Or will they stay and slug it out with the Iranians? If so, at what cost?”


Source:


Before It’s News® is a community of individuals who report on what’s going on around them, from all around the world.

Anyone can join.
Anyone can contribute.
Anyone can become informed about their world.

"United We Stand" Click Here To Create Your Personal Citizen Journalist Account Today, Be Sure To Invite Your Friends.

Please Help Support BeforeitsNews by trying our Natural Health Products below!


Order by Phone at 888-809-8385 or online at https://mitocopper.com M - F 9am to 5pm EST

Order by Phone at 866-388-7003 or online at https://www.herbanomic.com M - F 9am to 5pm EST

Order by Phone at 866-388-7003 or online at https://www.herbanomics.com M - F 9am to 5pm EST


Humic & Fulvic Trace Minerals Complex - Nature's most important supplement! Vivid Dreams again!

HNEX HydroNano EXtracellular Water - Improve immune system health and reduce inflammation.

Ultimate Clinical Potency Curcumin - Natural pain relief, reduce inflammation and so much more.

MitoCopper - Bioavailable Copper destroys pathogens and gives you more energy. (See Blood Video)

Oxy Powder - Natural Colon Cleanser!  Cleans out toxic buildup with oxygen!

Nascent Iodine - Promotes detoxification, mental focus and thyroid health.

Smart Meter Cover -  Reduces Smart Meter radiation by 96%! (See Video).

Report abuse

    Comments

    Your Comments
    Question   Razz  Sad   Evil  Exclaim  Smile  Redface  Biggrin  Surprised  Eek   Confused   Cool  LOL   Mad   Twisted  Rolleyes   Wink  Idea  Arrow  Neutral  Cry   Mr. Green

    Total 35 comments
    • dave nuevo

      Great article. I’m trying to figure out when it’s from, another source claims it’s from October 2004.
      Any ideas?

    • Anonymous

      So the main factor here is to stay outside of the range of this somewhat limited weapon and destroy it’s deployment platform. If AWACS can see twice that far it seems the US military has already planned for this contingency. So the threat, however sinister, is nullified by distance and the US has enormous capabilities, land, sea and air. I think this is a chained beast that can be defeated by US forces in the Gulf. :evil:

      • Janak

        lol keep dreaming

      • MartialisXIII

        It sounds like some late nite infomercial for Iran and Russia. The Russian Sunburn missile get yours right away. If you order now you get 2 for the price of 1, just pay shipping and handling. This is just a anti American propaganda. Mostly speculation with some facts.

    • LifeIs

      America Rules, if it were that easy, the Bush administration would have destroyed Iran in 2006-07.

      Iran and its allies -Russia and China and Syria- have had a long time to prepare for the attack.

      You can expect the GPS system to be neutralized, one way or another. You can expect something to be done about the AWACS. And you can expect those Navy ships to be targeted by something that can get within shooting distance.

      By the way, this American does not want to launch an illegal and immoral war against Iran or Syria or Pakistan. And I want the present wars ended.

    • Anonymous

      Zionists control the u.s, they are complicit in the murder of millions of people worldwide while supporting the terrorist state of israel. They are always the aggressors as are israel while the zionist controlled MSM lies to the public about their true intentions, which gets them public support for the mass murdering worldwide. If they left poeple alone and didn’t commit false flags as a justification to attack everyone then there would be peace in the world. This missile system sounds ace and if it destroys the u.s navy/military and prevented them from killing whoever the rothschilds target next then good… This missile if it exsists would save many lives worldwide and that is a good thing. You may fear it but you would only fear it if you were in a position to be hit by it. Leave poeple alone and there would be no problem. Save your armed forces, they are people too! God bless us all.

    • HDThoreau

      The only way Obama is going to attack Iran is if they say they are now our ally and have stopped killing Christians and Jews.

      • Janak

        who cares about those christfags and merchants?

        • Brew

          Show some respect for your fellow man

    • Ranger_Ric

      For one, I do not believe Iran has the “awesome” capabilities describe here and neither do we lack the offensive capabilities to wipe them out within hours should we decide to. The same things were said about Saddam Husein prior to the gulf war and we reduced his forces to nothing in short order. If necessary, tactical nukes will be used on Iran. The people of Iran hate their radical leaders, once they are gone, the people will not be a threat.

      That said, I personally think having -any- carriers in the gulf is a mistake, much less three of them! The should be at a safe distance, the aircraft they carry can support a war over the gulf without having the carriers right there. It is almost like they are setting us up for a pearl harbor event. One nuke takes out three carrier groups.

      Finally, i don’t trust our gutless, Marxist muslim leader obama. I don’t know that is not part of setting us up for a fall. I don’t know that he would do anything about them taking out a carrier group or three. He is not to be trusted with a rowboat.

    • Roninsteel

      Tehran 10,000 degrees that’s hot!

    • Anonymous

      HAARP, ’nuff said!

    • Medifix

      “An egoist can be won over by being respected, a crazy person can be won over by allowing him to behave in an insane manner and a wise person can be won over by truth”. Chanakya (BC 350-283) A teacher at the ancient Takshashila University (Wikipedia).

    • Robbie

      There will be a sea disaster. Hopefully this doesn’t mean American ships destroyed however many ships are going to be destroyed at the seventh seal opening. Revelation 8:9 And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.

    • muscltory

      Citizens of Earth want the war crimes ended, not to continue. All we need to do is arrest those who create war.

    • faro0485

      This is why the US and Israel will use EMPs

    • Pateriot

      We have always been extremely vulnerable to attack, both on the battle and at home. Our greatest defense is our offense. You may hit us but we will strike back with overwhelming force and destroy you. This is still true. They may take out a couple (or several) ships but their ability to wage war will soon be eliminated.

      Our defenses must be strengthened significantly but will never be impenetrable. As such our offense deterrent needs to be beefed up. This could best be achieved by dropping our inhibitions about completely and utterly destroying the enemy if attacked. Don’t pull punches or obsess about “collateral” damage. Don’t rebuild the barbarians so they live to attack another day. Simply destroy their ability to threaten us in any way in the future! This would not only eliminate the immediate threat faced, but would serve as a strong deterrent for the next group that considered attacking the US.

      War should be rare and not considered lightly. But once engaged in, carried out with one thought in mind. Destroying the enemy and its ability to threaten us.

    • Archie1954

      But if the US military is destroyed would that not be good for the world? Would that not end constant wars and rumours of war? Would that not allow the American people to regain control of their own government? Would that not reinstate rule by law and attention to the Constitution?

      • RAINSCRYPT

        no, it would not.

    • Anonymous

      I read the comments below, and am stunned by most that display a complete denial of the situation, the reality of global politics, and wishful thinking.

      This weapon system is real. Faro has the only real grasp of what the initial strike on Iran will consist of. An EMP strike.The only way to defeat these weapons is to hose the command and control centers. With Iran’s partnership with the Russians, and rumored heavy ties with China’s military, they probably have a fairly robust system with backups.

      Few are aware that in the initial hours of of the two strikes on Iraq, such devices were used along with a chaff like material designed to short out overhead power lines.

      If such a type of attack is to be launched on Iran, it will likely have an entirely different end. Iran’s air defense capabilities are leagues ahead of what Iraq was able to muster. A preemptive strike will likely result in an immediate response when and if Iran is able to detect an incoming attack. Basically a use-it-or-lose-it type strike on any foreign assets in the gulf.

      One also needs to recall that Putin has pledged to aid Iran if she is attacked.

      This is going to bad people.

    • Anonymous

      Small nukes 2 miles above nuke faciletys,That would wipe out all electronics desamating the plant rendering it usless,But that won’t work because it would not cost billions of dollars and they would not be able to rape the f**k out of the American tax payers :idea:

    • Apolitical Blues

      Nowhere in this article was there any mention of the SeaRAM system. With a better than 95% accuracy rate and, eleven birds per launcher I’d say the Navy has its ass covered. Of course, moving at mach 2+ any explosion triggered by doppler shift will be a very lucky kill, IMHO.

    • LifeIs

      There are 25,000 Jewish Iranians. They were offered 10,000 dollars apiece in 2007 as an inducement to move to Israel. Ynet reported that “dozens” accepted the offer.

      (The 25,000 does not include Muslims with Jewish ancestry.)

      The US and UK overthrew Iran’s democracy in 1953 and imposed a brutal dictatorship. The US supported Saddam Hussein’s attempt to seize the oil-rich province of Khuzestan in 1980. That 8-year war killed up to 1.5 million people.

      The US has no legal or moral right to attack Iran.

      The aircraft carrier battle groups won’t be in the Persian Gulf during the war, I’m sure. They will try to stay out of shooting range.

      “Anonymous” wants to use nuclear weapons against Iran? Well, consider what Russia and China and Pakistan will do about that. Also consider the possibility that the cruise missiles
      Iran purchased from Ukraine are nuclear armed.

      NOBODY thinks we can destroy Iran in hours. If they were unable to defend themselves,
      it would take weeks of bombing.

      Remember that Iraq had been under sanctions and was bombed periodically for 12 years
      before the 2003 invasion. We haven’t attacked anybody capable of self-defense in any modern war.

      The last time the US was on the winning side of a significant war was VJ Day, 1945. We got driven out of North Korea. We got driven out of Iran, Laos, and Cambodia. And the present wars aren’t over yet.

    • HereAmI

      Technological pros and cons abound. But no reference is made to the divine plan. This will be implemented irrespective of human desires or intentions.
      The simple fact is that the lost tribes of Israel were transferred to Britain in 700 BC following the Assyrian invasion. These tribes became the new inhabitants of that nation, whose very name reflects this fact, ie the People of the Covenant. Many landed in Cornwall; still today we have the small town of Marazion, translated as The Bitterness of Zion. Cornwall is cut off from the rest of Britain by the river Tamar. The Cornish have their own language which bears no relationship whatsoever to the English spoken by their neighbours. Jacob’s pillar or pillow ended up as the Stone of Destiny, placed beneath the Throne of England, until stolen by recalcitrant Scots a few decades ago. Wales also has a language entirely separate from English, they call their land Cymru; the name by which they are known by all the nations through whose lands they migrated. Their written language, Colbrin, is seen to be identical to the language of Ancient Egypt, from whence they originally came, after the Exodus.
      Alan Wilson has explored and elucidated all these facts; his works will entirely change your opinion of the alleged history which you have been taught.
      Abraham was promised that his seed would become a great nation, and the father of many nations. Cue the British Commonwealth, which a relatively short time ago ruled over 1/4 of the earth. The roots of this empire can be seen to have begun when Henry VIII rejected the rule of the Pope; God blessed this change, and Henry then instituted the creation of the Royal Navy, which was entirely instrumental in establishing the pre-eminence of England on the global stage. White Americans are a part of this historic nation. These Israelites were promised a birthright which they have for hundreds of years been the recipients of. However, they have forgotten both their true identity, and the One who blessed them. These great Anglo Saxon nations are now ripe for punishment; YHVH has always used other nations to punish His own people when they prostituted themselves to strange gods. Thus we have prophesied throughout the Bible the devastation of these nations in these last days. Of 600 millions living in the nations described as the Commonwealth plus the US, 90% are shortly going to die of war, and the famine and disease which follow in its wake. These forces are typified as the Red Black and Pale horses of the apocalypse; and this approaching period is termed the Tribulation, and it will be horrific beyond measure. It commences, as far as I can see, on 21st March, and lasts for 2 1/2 years. Following this period, the nations which were used to punish Israel, (do not confuse these people with the imposters who have fraudulently taken over the land bearing that name ), will themselves be obliterated in the Day of the Lord, a one-year period during which men’s hearts will fail them fo fear. Global devastation via monstrous earthquakesand tsunamis will reduce every nation to rubble. Take heed of the prodromal signs of this, showing now worldwide.
      Knowledge is the only true power. The Restored Church of God has an excellent website which will further reveal all these things to a humble heart. The question is not whether these things are going to happen, but simply how will you respond to them. YHVH has created a place of safety; much as the miraculous deliverance of Israel occurred 3500 years ago, through signs and wonders, so you in the present age may also be delivered.
      “Choose ye this day whom you will serve”.

      • Anonymous

        Let not your hearts or minds be diverted from this reality. The truth right in front of your eyes
        can seem so unbelivable that most will chose to belive otherwise. Seek God and know your
        Lord. It is your only salvation.

      • Stink Neck

        Wow, not often you come across someone who does actually understand this truth. :idea:

    • Nam Marine

      HORSE MANURE ! :razz:

    • Anonymous

      More fear porn? Yeah we need to get out the yard stick! Ours ain’t gonna take no beatin’ from the Chi-neeeezzzeee!

      NEWSFLASH!!!! 80% of our debt is from the 80′s Reagan military build up to sink the Soviets….it worked…yeah…great.

      Econ 101 – all military “investment” (meaning production and purchase) is a “stagnant” investment… tanks won’t plough the fields, construct anything, or make wigets…they just sit, require spare parts, people to maintain them and the “cost center” keeps running a tab….no pay back…ever.

      If you think that war “acquisition” of other countries and their resources …like oil…is a good deal?? Add it up….has anyone called you to take some land we invaded and help “manage” it back after the destruction? Oh, wait, that’s Halliburton’s and the Carlisle group’s cut…yeah, only the rich get the “spoils”…

      You get the bill!!! You pay for the Univeristy research to find the stuff for SAIC, then you pay NASA for the satellite, then you pay for all teh military hardware (Army, Navy, AF, Marines), then you pay for “intelligence” (CIA, NSA, U.N., etc.), ….then you pay to have the suff brought back by the good people at Chevron, Shell, Exxon and BP.

      Then…you pay at the pump….real estimated cost….$88 per gallon. But that ain’t waht troubles me…

      You pay the ultimate price that nobody should pay for any “thing” other than freedom or defense…you pay with your son’s and daughter’s lives.

      How can we all be “ok” with that?

    • Anonymous

      i read an article written by a supposed satanist, and this person said that the us 5th fleet would be sacrificed to start this global conflict that would achieve their ends

    • Anonymous

      The RAM – Rolling Airframe Missile – anti-missile system was developed years ago by the Navy to defeat this particular threat. It’s now deployed. This article is outdated.

    • Anonymous

      I agree that a launch from land would be easily detected. Thus ineffective.

      I would worry more about submarines. Just one uncounted for can launch a missile. And there have been MANY instances in which modern Russians and Chinese subs have being seen noticed VERY close (less than 1 km, and then just detected because the sub surfaced).

      On a side note: Is disgusting that we are going to war with a country just because Israel wants to go to war and instead of putting their skin in the line, they just make the USA do it. American blood wasted to serve Zionist. Not to mention the Iranian blood. That country has done nothing to us. And yet people seem to want this war.

      A side note:
      No position of power should be held by anyone with dual citizenship. You are either American or you are Israeli. But you are not both. This politicians always side with the side of Israel and to hell with the side of the People. And we continue to vote for this scumbags.

    • Anonymous

      It still can’t break through many of our ships defenses, and it’s unnecessarily over complicated. We should just be making stealth missiles, they really wouldn’t even have to move that fast.

    • cact25

      Russian “Sunburn” anti-ship missle threat neutralized…

      Posted on Mon Aug 18 2003 20:20:55 GMT-0700 (Pacific Daylight Time) by 1stFreedom

      This is the headline that should have been

      Instead, the headlines stated that Raytheon rolled out the SeaRAM anti-ship missle defense system.

      What is significant about this anti-missile defense system is that it can defeat the Mach 2.5 Russian “Sunburn” anti-ship missle. Until the rollout of the SeaRAM, the Russians have enjoyed a very dangerous advantage in anti-ship missile technology. In order to destablize the power of the United States, the Russians have been selling the Sunburn missles to China. The Russians have refused to sell them to the West, and despite the best efforts of it’s spies, the west has very little information on them.

    • Anonymous

      Old news.

    • Icecharge

      The laser weapons make a difference.

    MOST RECENT
    Load more ...

    SignUp

    Login

    Newsletter

    Email this story
    Email this story

    If you really want to ban this commenter, please write down the reason:

    If you really want to disable all recommended stories, click on OK button. After that, you will be redirect to your options page.