Iran Threatens U.S. With 'Harm and Pain'

Moved to Political Palace for being Political Palace material.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Gumby

No Iranian missle will ever touch an American carrier group. Our carriers are far to well defended for that to happen. The anti-missle defense systems on those ships can shoot down planes or missles at more than 1 mile out.

You seem very sure of this. It might be justified if Iranian missiles were of an Iranian design. Unfortunately for that ever-so-sure premise, the Iranians have probably been sold Russian SS-N-22 Sunburn anti-ship missiles, which are designed specifically to get through the anti-missile defenses of American carrier battle groups.

Also, when talking about planes and missiles in this Jet Age we live in, one mile isn't really all that far.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Stealth

Not to mention that the rest of the battle group is designed to protect the carrier. That's why they exist. They'd never touch our carriers, don't kid yourselves. (Yes, before someone brings up the USS Cole, I'm talking about conventional warfare.)

You and Gumby are so damn sure that a carrier battlegroup isn't vulnerable to antiship missiles. Just what justifies this confidence? AEGIS, however good a system it is, isn't perfect. It can be beaten, and the Soviets designed the Sunburn missiles specifically to beat AEGIS. Sunburns have speeds approaching Mach 3, and they cut the maximum response time available to a defending vessel to a quarter of what is available against something such as an Exocet (25-30 seconds as opposed to 120-150 seconds). That's not a lot of time to respond, and the more there are, the more likely some will get through.

Yes, the rest of the battlegroup is there to protect the carrier. I know that. The Soviets knew it, too. That's why they developed weapons capable of dealing with the ships in a battlegroup.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by Stealth

Do you really think they would be able to hurt a CBG with anything they currently have at their disposal?

Considering they have a bunch of those Sunburn missiles I've been talking about at their disposal, I wouldn't rule out the possibility.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

This is probably the best article I could find, as it specifically mentions the Sunburn, along with this chart.

You can find specs for the Sunburn itself here and here, if you're interested. The missile exists, and the fact that it does renders false Gumby's and your statements to the effect that USN carrier battlegroups are invulnerable to missile attack.

I was speaking idiomatically.