Not A Charm@not_a_charm

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U.S. Navy logistics off Iran

The U.S. Navy has 20 warships parked off Iran, and the hard part isn't the firepower, it's the groceries. Lincoln and Bush carrier strike groups and the Boxer amphibious group are all in the northern Arabian Sea within reach of Iran, and keeping them fed and armed is turning into one of the toughest jobs in the operation. Back in January, Gulf states locked U.S. forces out of their bases and airspace because they were scared of Iranian retaliation, which killed the normal resupply points in Bahrain, the UAE and Oman. Supply ships can still load cargo there, but getting to the fleet means going through the Strait of Hormuz, where missiles and drones are already taking shots at commercial traffic. Big, lightly defended store ships are sitting ducks in that corridor. So now everything has to come from the Indian Ocean region or from East Asia, and there are only four store ships covering the whole fleet. Some of them have been underway for over a month. Food doesn't last forever, and the longer the supply line, the quicker fresh fruit, vegetables and milk disappear, swapped out for frozen or canned stuff. In 2015 the Navy brought back commercial ships to haul fuel at sea, but it never built up the same kind of fleet for dry stores and ammunition. That hole is obvious now. Warships in a contested sea are only as good as the supply chain behind them, and admirals love paying for the shooters while hating to pay for the trucks.

1mo

Not A Charm@not_a_charm

Follow

U.S. Navy logistics off Iran

The U.S. Navy has 20 warships parked off Iran, and the hard part isn't the firepower, it's the groceries. Lincoln and Bush carrier strike groups and the Boxer amphibious group are all in the northern Arabian Sea within reach of Iran, and keeping them fed and armed is turning into one of the toughest jobs in the operation. Back in January, Gulf states locked U.S. forces out of their bases and airspace because they were scared of Iranian retaliation, which killed the normal resupply points in Bahrain, the UAE and Oman. Supply ships can still load cargo there, but getting to the fleet means going through the Strait of Hormuz, where missiles and drones are already taking shots at commercial traffic. Big, lightly defended store ships are sitting ducks in that corridor. So now everything has to come from the Indian Ocean region or from East Asia, and there are only four store ships covering the whole fleet. Some of them have been underway for over a month. Food doesn't last forever, and the longer the supply line, the quicker fresh fruit, vegetables and milk disappear, swapped out for frozen or canned stuff. In 2015 the Navy brought back commercial ships to haul fuel at sea, but it never built up the same kind of fleet for dry stores and ammunition. That hole is obvious now. Warships in a contested sea are only as good as the supply chain behind them, and admirals love paying for the shooters while hating to pay for the trucks.

1mo