Posted on 04/22/2020 6:31:25 AM PDT by Bruiser 10
I think most of those boats, from the pics I’ve seen, have outboards. Gonna be difficult to hit at speed on the ocean.
Not dissing the marksmanship of our crews, just making an observation.
Or they could just throw the Rules of Engagement notebook at them.
Those little piss ant armed fishing boats have harassed our warships for years....need to take out a flotilla or two....must be aware of shore to ship cruise missile sites, subs, torpedoes, and etc...would be ashamed if Iranian subs had a few mysterious accidents...and dont the Iranians have a frigate or something?
CIWS is pretty awesome.
It is capable of taking out supersonic missiles, so it almost takes all the fun out of the near stationary target a small boat is... Too computerized...
How about getting a few Miniguns on the rails and let the crews have a little fun?
Unfortunately, Iranian “gunboats” are anything from light craft with a 3-5 man crew to much larger and heavier ships that look like light destroyers. Likewise the defense against them should also vary considerably.
Of course we have the International Rules of the Road governs how we conduct ourselves at sea.
But that predisposes that you are dealing with rational mariners. If the rug merchants want to play with fire they may be disappointed when they get burned.
As someone else posted. . . sink a few and notice how they all go home.
As someone who spent months on Gonzo Station back in 1979 I fall into the camp of kill them all and let God sort it out.
fyi
Coronavirus-driven CO2 shortage threatens US food and water supply, officials say
Washington state emergency planning document points to difficulties obtaining carbon dioxide gas, essential for water treatment
Several water plants were told their CO2 supply would be restricted to 33% of normal, according to a Washington state document. Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA
Jason Wilson
@jason_a_w
Published on Mon 20 Apr 2020 06.00 EDT
5214
An emerging shortage of carbon dioxide gas (CO2) caused by the coronavirus pandemic may affect food supply chains and drinking water, a Washington state emergency planning document has revealed.
The document, a Covid-19 situation report produced by the State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC), contains a warning from the state’s office of drinking water (ODW) about difficulties in obtaining CO2, which is essential for the process of water treatment.
The document says that the ODW is “still responding to [that day’s] notification of a national shortage of CO2”.
It continues: “Several [water plants] had received initial notification from their vendors that their supply would be restricted to 33% of normal.”
It further warns: “So far utilities have been able to make the case that they are considered essential to critical infrastructure and have been returned to full supply. However, we want to ask if CISA [the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency] can assess this through their contacts, if this is sustainable given the national shortage.”
Asked to clarify the nature of this problem, ODW director Mike Means said in an email that his agency had first learned of potential problems when Seattle public utilities were “contacted by their vendor Airgas who supplied a copy of a Force Majeure notice”, warning them that their CO2 order would be reduced due to pandemic-related shortages.
Force majeure is a contractual defense that allows parties to escape liability for contracts in the case of events – such as a pandemic – that could not be reasonably foreseen.
In this case, Means wrote, “Airgas informed in their notice that they would only be able to do 80% of their normal service but subsequent discussions said to expect more like 33%”.
Revealed: food bank shortages expected to hit Washington state by mid-April
Read more
At this point, he added, “we reached out to understand if this was a WA specific problem or national. We quickly understood it to be a national issue.”
ODW had then contacted federal agencies such as CISA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) and industry bodies such as the Association of State Drinking Water Authorities (ASDWA).
The main reason for national shortages, according to the CEO of the Compressed Gas Association (CGA), Rich Gottwald, is a ramping down of ethanol production.
“Back in the summertime, the [Trump] administration exempted some gasoline manufacturers from using ethanol. Then we had Russia and Saudi Arabia flooding the market with cheap gasoline. All of that led to an oversupply of ethanol,” Gottwald said.
“As ethanol manufacturers were ramping down because there wasn’t a market for their product, along comes Covid-19, which meant people weren’t driving anywhere”, he added.
This led to plant closures, including among the 50 specialized plants that collect CO2 for the food and beverage market.
Gottwald’s association, along with a number of associations representing food and beverage industries, which together use 77% of food-grade CO2, issued a joint warning to the federal government about the shortage.
In an open letter to the vice-president, Mike Pence, the coalition warns: “Preliminary data show that production of CO2 has decreased by approximately 20%, and experts predict that CO2 production may be reduced by 50% by mid-April.”
It continues: “A shortage in CO2 would impact the US availability of fresh food, preserved food and beverages, including beer production.”
In an email, a Fema spokesperson said: “There is nationwide reduction in CO2 production capacity based on a shutdown of some ethanol plants that produce CO2 as a by-product, but impacts to water sectors would be local”.
“The ethanol plants are not closed because of Federal government orders related to COVID-19, but rather by market forces”.
https://www.nytimes.com/article/coronavirus-homemade-mask-material-DIY-face-mask-ppe.html
What’s the Best Material for a Mask?
Scientists are testing everyday items to find the best protection from coronavirus. Pillow cases, flannel pajamas and origami vacuum bags are all candidates.
Credit...Samuel Aranda for The New York Times
Tara Parker-Pope
By Tara Parker-Pope
Federal health officials have now recommended that we cover our faces with fabric during the coronavirus pandemic. But what material offers the most protection?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has posted a no-sew mask pattern using a bandanna and a coffee filter as well as a video on making masks using rubber bands and folded fabrics found at home.
Too bad it’s taking the laser weapons systems so long to get going. They have excellent demo footage of them roasting the smaller boats and being able to hit engines on larger ones.
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