{"id":12489,"date":"2017-08-25T10:42:23","date_gmt":"2017-08-25T10:42:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2017\/08\/25\/just-a-matter-of-time-until-iran-arms-surveillance-drones-near-us-ships\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T21:31:24","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T21:31:24","slug":"just-a-matter-of-time-until-iran-arms-surveillance-drones-near-us-ships","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/flashpoints\/2017\/08\/25\/just-a-matter-of-time-until-iran-arms-surveillance-drones-near-us-ships\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Just a matter of time\u2019 until Iran arms surveillance drones near US ships"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

ABOARD THE USS NIMITZ \u2014 High above the Arabian Gulf, an Iranian drone crosses the path of American fighter jets lining up to land on the U.S. Navy carrier Nimitz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The drone buzzes across the sky at least a mile above the massive ship and is spotted by the fighters. It is unarmed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But for the senior Navy commanders on the ship, the presence of the enemy drone so close is worrying. Their biggest fear is the surveillance aircraft will start carrying weapons, posing a more direct threat to U.S. vessels transiting one of the world\u2019s most significant strategic and economic international waterways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just a matter of time before we see that,\u201d said Navy Rear Adm. Bill Byrne, commander of the carrier strike group that includes the Nimitz. He said the Iranian drone activity has \u201cgenerated a lot of discussion\u201d and was becoming an increasingly pressing matter of concern.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If, at some point, Byrne believes a drone is threatening his ship, he and his staff would have to carefully proceed through the required responses \u2014 efforts at communication, sounding the horn, firing flares and warning shots, and flying a helicopter close to the unmanned vehicle. If all those efforts fail and he still perceives a threat, Byrne said it would be his duty, his \u201cresponsibility,\u201d to shoot down the Iranian drone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So far, it hasn\u2019t come to that. But the drones have become an even more dangerous security risk as U.S. carriers in the Arabian Gulf like the Nimitz play a key role in Iraq and Syria. Planes from these ships are regularly flying to each country to bomb Islamic State militants and other targets. From the Nimitz alone, U.S. fighter jets flew missions resulting in at least 350 bombs being dropped on ISIS militants just in the last month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iran has routinely challenged U.S. ships and aircraft across the Gulf, asserting at times that the entire waterway is its territory. Navy commanders say Iran\u2019s unpredictable behavior is the biggest safety hazard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIranians don\u2019t always follow the rules,\u201d Byrne said. \u201cThere is a well-established set of norms, standards and laws. They don\u2019t tend to follow them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To counter the threat, Pentagon experts are searching for new ways to deter, defeat or disable the drones. According to Byrne and Cmdr. Dave Kurtz, the Nimitz\u2019s executive officer, Iranian drones fly over the carrier strike group almost daily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They said the danger is that as the F\/A-18 fighters return from their missions in Iraq and Syria, they circle overhead, lining up for their turn to land on the carrier. Even if the Iranian drones are only meant to annoy, their buzzing across the American flight paths risks an accident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Up in the carrier\u2019s control room, a book on Iranian naval and maritime forces sits above the radar screen. Commanders on the ship announce when a drone appears. Then they go through a careful, planned response of attempted radio calls and warnings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gen. Joseph Votel, the top U.S. commander in the Middle East, visited the Nimitz on Thursday, also stopping on the nearby guided-missile cruiser Vella Gulf. The drone, he said, also flew over that ship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe proliferation of drones is a real challenge,\u201d said Votel, who was finishing his 10-day trip to the Middle East and Afghanistan. \u201cIt\u2019s growing exponentially.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t