Japanese Ship Hijacked In Africa

BBC ^ | 10-29-2007

[B4Ranch]

An informative website
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/para/pirates.htm

[PGalt]

WOOHOO! Go Navy! America’s finest! Thanks for the link, null and void.

[fso301]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1918044/posts

[PapaBear3625]

Need something like a Harpoon. Not sure a Predator can carry that.

The pirate "ships" are mainly speedboats that they use to get boarding parties onto the ships. One 250-lbs JDAM would turn one into splinters

The Predator B (the new, larger version of the old Predator) can carry 3,000 pounds of ordinance, plus 3,000 pounds of fuel, giving it a loiter time of 32 hours at 50K feet altitude. I would guess you could put a pair of 1300 lbs harpoons on one and stay within the weight limits, but I'm thinking you would need to redesign the hardpoints on the wing

[Pistolshot]

True, true. But by the looks of it, I was a little prescient. See post 7. And then this was posted later.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1918044/posts

[Steelerfan]

Thanks for the detailed response. I am old enough to remember the tanker war in the Gulf where there was talk of fitting supertankers with chaff and other antimissile systems, but I recall it being rejected for much the same reasons you described. In a way, some of these concerns are similar to those that made the “classic” pirates successful, for economic reasons merchant ship crews were small in number compared to pirate crews and not well enough paid to have any incentive to fight off a pirate attack (and the pirates would kill everyone on board a ship that resisted). Better to surrender and take your chances.

Thanks again for the information

[Gritty]

You’re welcome.