COLUMN | Conflict in the Middle East: naval aspects and future prospects for key players and their allies [Naval Gazing]

The conflict in the Middle East continues to gather momentum. However, relatively little attention has so far been paid to the naval aspects of the war in this region.

Early naval engagement

Naval involvement actually began before widespread fighting commenced, with Iran-backed militia group Hezbollah launching rocket and drone attacks earlier this month on the Israeli port and naval base at Haifa, while an Israeli Navy (IN) Sa’ar 6 corvette reputedly downed an incoming cruise missile over the Mediterranean.

Also, the Israeli Air Force has carried out a major strike on the oil exporting Yemeni port of Hodeidah, while Iran-backed militias based in Iraq and Yemen mounted cruise missile attacks on Haifa. Israel’s highly accurate C-Dome missiles, launched from Sa’ar-6 corvettes, also played a major role.

Seaward defence

Subsequently, US Navy Arleigh Burke-class destroyers have joined IN warships in protecting Israel against attack drones and cruise missiles launched from Lebanon and Yemen. Furthermore, the Americans have for some weeks been maintaining a strong naval presence in the eastern Mediterranean with a prime role of deterring Iran and other external actors from attempting to reap advantage from the current regional instability.

This fleet includes the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group (CSG), which operates F-35C Lightning II and F/A-18E/F Super Hornet strike fighters.

Also stationed in the Mediterranean is an amphibious warfare group led by the amphibious assault ship Wasp, with embarked F-35Bs.

Escorts include the embedded UK Royal Navy air defence destroyer Duncan, which is equipped with Sea Viper surface-to-air missiles. These weapon systems are being substantially upgraded in order to cope with the increasingly sophisticated drones and missiles being deployed against merchant ships operating in the Red Sea.

Now, the IN is helping Israel’s defence efforts against drones and cruise missiles fired at Israel by Iran-backed militias based in Iraq, Yemen, and Lebanon.

The IN also played a significant role in Israel’s recent large-scale incursion into Lebanon by bombarding areas in the southern part of the country.

The most effective Iranian maritime intervention thus far has been Tehran’s backing of the continuing campaign of attacks on shipping in the Red Sea. The aims of these attacks are to inflict economic damage upon the west and to erode domestic western support for Israel. Iran’s efforts so far have achieved a measure of success.

Many merchant ships now avoid the Red Sea, and the delays resulting from them taking an alternative route around the Cape are hampering supply lines and causing some shortages and price rises.

Weapons deployed by the US Navy to defend merchant shipping in the region have included the ultra-high-performance SM-3 missile, which, after launch, climbs out the earth’s atmosphere, before re-entering at very high speed to shoot down the incoming projectile.

Red Sea attacks continue

Iran for some years facilitated the Red Sea attacks on merchant ships by stationing two converted merchant vessels in the sea. Both these ships are fitted with extra-large masts, on which are mounted radar scanners. These assets have now been withdrawn from service and have been replaced by multiple small boats manned by Houthi fighters. These are used for spotting, and sometimes operated in coordination with uncrewed attack craft.

Many analysts believe that the long term outlook for maritime security in the Middle East is gloomy indeed.