I see your Tanker Probe and raise you a Carrier Strike Group
This just in……
The 42,000-ton fleet oiler USNS Rappahannock was attacked today off the coast of Dubai.
Rappahannock was involved in an incident in the Persian Gulf off the coast of Dubai with an unknown motorboat that approached the ship despite several warnings. “An embarked security team aboard a U.S. Navy vessel fired upon a small motor vessel after it disregarded warnings and rapidly approached the U.S. ship,” Greg Raelson, media officer for U.S. Navy, said in an e-mailed statement. The incident is under investigation, he said. The vessel was struck by Navy fire, killing one person and injuring three others, said a U.S. official speaking on condition of anonymity. The craft was first warned away from the USNS Rappahannock by voice, radio, and lights, the official said
Just goes to show that you shouldn’t get too close to Navy ships, even auxiliaries in congested high-threat areas….
It will probably go down as a civilian boat and there will be some bad press. If you ask me, its probably a test and, while the craft is no-doubt unarmed and registered to somecountry other than Iran, odds are the money for it came from there. Just trying to see how close they can get without getting lit up.
In an interesting (and no-doubt not officially related) story, the USS Stennis Carrier Strike Group is leaving for the area four months ahead of schedule….