Suspected pirates take shots at U.S. ship
People on a skiff shot at the USS Ashland approximately 330 nautical miles off the coast of Djibouti.
The Ashland shot back, the U.S. Fifth Fleet said. The skiff caught fire and the people abandoned the skiff.
The Ashland deployed rigid-hull inflatable boats to assist the six suspected pirates in the water near their skiff. They were brought on board the Ashland and received medical care.
There were no injuries to the Ashland crew and no apparent damage to the ship, the U.S. Fifth Fleet said
I’ve dealt with this topic recently. I am amazed that any group of pirates thinks that they can take on a U.S. Navy ship and capture or defeat it. Yes, there is a recent history of small craft loaded with explosives and crewed by would-be-martyrs doing tremendous damage to the U.S.S. Cole in Yemen. But since that time ROE’s have been modified to allow ships’ captains to defend their vessels effectively. Small craft are no longer allowed to close to within range where such tactics would be effective without being engaged.
As naval vessels have become more sophisticated in nature the type of ordnance organic to naval vessels has changed markedly. Warships in the 20th century’s major wars were gun platforms for ship-to-ship engagement, shore bombardment, anti-aircraft fire, and anti-submarine duty. The image of a warship bristling with guns is now obsolete.
Ship-to-ship engagements, should they take place, are now carried out using missiles. Missiles also serve as anti-aircraft weaponry, anti-submarine weaponry, and ship-to-shore weapons. Some ships retain the 5 inch naval cannon that is now the Navy’s heavy gun, suitable for any target within 23 miles range. There are also point defense gatling-type radar aimed and corrected anti-missile systems, and the venerable .50 cal machine gun is still very
much in use. But these changes leave surface warships less able to deal with small craft than they once were. A 5 inch cannon is not a good weapon to use when in port as the risk of damage to other ships and shore facilities is high if the round misses its intended target. The .50 caliber machine gun is effective against most small craft but not always immediately so. Again, targeting must be exact in order to avoid unwanted damage to other ships and shore facilities.
Thus, small craft become more useful in planning high speed runs against naval ships. Aided by the relative lack of armor in today’s warships, such tactics can, if deployed successfully, incapacitate or perhaps even sink a war ship. The increasing likelihood of pirates and terrorists having access to anti-ship missiles via contacts with sponsoring states or from arms dealers is cause for naval ships to strictly enforce proximity limits of approach by any unidentified craft and to open fire at the first sign of hostile intent.
The current practice of rescuing any survivors of boats or ships sunk in the act of attacking a naval vessel my provide some limited intelligence concerning backing, financial, and ordnance support but should never be carried out if doing so jeopardizes our naval ships.
There is a very promising system in research now to replace the current naval cannon. Electro-magnetic rail guns are a potential new main armament for our warships that show great promise.
http://gizmodo.com/351467/navy-rail-gun-test-destroys-everything-it-touches-at-5640-mph
Watch the videos. This is just a trial shot at partial power. The completed weapon could be truly amazing.
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