Why Iran Hates America's Cyclone-Class Patrol Boats

[rangerrebew]

August 15, 2020

Why Iran Hates America's Cyclone-Class Patrol Boats

These small ships play a big role in deterring Tehran.
by David Axe Follow @daxe on Twitter L

Key Point: These ships help patrol the waters in the Persian Gulf. As a result, they keep an eye on Iran and would be among the first in a fight.

If the United States and Iran go to war in the Persian Gulf, the U.S. Navy’s smallest warships could be the first to see combat.

The Navy’s 13 Cyclone-class patrol boats -- also known as “PCs” for “patrol, coastal” -- each displace just 330 tons of water. An Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, by contrast, displaces more than 9,000 tons of water. A standard crew aboard a Cyclone includes just 28 officers and sailors.

https://nationalinterest.org/blog/reboot/why-iran-hates-americas-cyclone-class-patrol-boats-166934

[Smokin Joe]

August 15, 2020

Why Iran Hates America's Cyclone-Class Patrol Boats

These small ships play a big role in deterring Tehran.
by David Axe Follow @daxe on Twitter L

Key Point: These ships help patrol the waters in the Persian Gulf. As a result, they keep an eye on Iran and would be among the first in a fight.

If the United States and Iran go to war in the Persian Gulf, the U.S. Navy’s smallest warships could be the first to see combat.

The Navy’s 13 Cyclone-class patrol boats -- also known as “PCs” for “patrol, coastal” -- each displace just 330 tons of water. An Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, by contrast, displaces more than 9,000 tons of water. A standard crew aboard a Cyclone includes just 28 officers and sailors.

https://nationalinterest.org/blog/reboot/why-iran-hates-americas-cyclone-class-patrol-boats-166934

More than once while discussing the options for the LCS, I have put forth that such heavily armed, relatively small, and hopefully fast gunboats as these might be a viable alternative, working with a mother ship with rearmament and fueling resources and even a well deck to transport the smaller vessels to the theater of operations.

Little did I know but such vessels do exist, and had the money been put into developing these instead, rather than the LCS program, I think we'd be well more capable of dealing with littoral threats and problems. I would think there would be a way to make some boats designated air defense boats to include with the squadron as they are deployed, or command drone vessels which could be utilized for air defense (which would be the most popular targets for an enemy, but would engender the smallest direct human losses in the event of their demise).