For example, according to Russ Winter of The Wall Street Examiner , Iran’s Sunburn missiles, acquired from Russia and China over the last 10 years, have the capability of creating "a world of hurt" for the US Navy’s 5th Fleet.
"The Sunburn is perhaps the most lethal anti-ship missile in the world, designed to fly as low as 9 feet above ground/water at more than 1,500 miles per hour (mach 2+). The missile uses a violent pop-up maneuver for its terminal approach to throw off Phalanx and other US anti-missile defense systems. Given their low cost, they’re perfectly suited for close quarter naval conflict in the bathtub-like Persian Gulf.”
With its 90-mile range, the Sunburn can be fired from practically any platform, including a flat bed truck, and could hit a ship in the Strait in less than a minute.
Adding this warning, Mark Gaffney says , "The US Navy has never faced anything in combat as formidable as the Sunburn missile.”
He mentions the even more-advanced SS-NX-26 Yakhonts missiles, also Russian-made (speed: Mach 2.9; range: 180 miles) deployed by the Iranians along the Persian Gulf's northern shore.
“Every US ship will be exposed and vulnerable. When the Iranians spring the trap, the entire lake will become a killing field,”
The question certainly needs to be asked, she says, "What hold does Israel have over America? Is America prepared to sustain immense damage to its vital interests on behalf of an unstable and insolent ally that remains, if numerous polls are to be believed, the world’s most hated nation?"
