Iranian naval patrol boats have again conducted an “unsafe and unprofessional” encounter with the US Navy in international waters near a critical choke point for maritime traffic, but this time they took a different approach.
The Iranian navy ship, identified as a Houdong-class by the US Naval institute, came within 800 yards of the USS Bataan helicopter carrier, USS Cole guided-missile destroyer, and the USNS Washington Chambers cargo ship and “trained a laser on a CH-53E helicopter that accompanied the formation,” Commander Bill Urban, spokesman for the Navy’s fifth fleet said in a statement to Business Insider.
The Iranian ship shined its spotlight ” from bow to stern and stern to bow before heading outbound from the formation,” said Urban.
“Illuminating helicopters with lasers at night is dangerous as it creates a navigational hazard that can impair vision and can be disorienting to pilots using night vision goggles,” said Urban. The laser caused the CH-53 to fire off flares as a countermeasure.
Read the whole story from Business Insider.
Featured image courtesy of U.S. Navy.
Iranian naval patrol boats have again conducted an “unsafe and unprofessional” encounter with the US Navy in international waters near a critical choke point for maritime traffic, but this time they took a different approach.
The Iranian navy ship, identified as a Houdong-class by the US Naval institute, came within 800 yards of the USS Bataan helicopter carrier, USS Cole guided-missile destroyer, and the USNS Washington Chambers cargo ship and “trained a laser on a CH-53E helicopter that accompanied the formation,” Commander Bill Urban, spokesman for the Navy’s fifth fleet said in a statement to Business Insider.
The Iranian ship shined its spotlight ” from bow to stern and stern to bow before heading outbound from the formation,” said Urban.
“Illuminating helicopters with lasers at night is dangerous as it creates a navigational hazard that can impair vision and can be disorienting to pilots using night vision goggles,” said Urban. The laser caused the CH-53 to fire off flares as a countermeasure.
Read the whole story from Business Insider.
Featured image courtesy of U.S. Navy.
COMMENTS
There are on this article.
You must become a subscriber or login to view or post comments on this article.