Iran’s ‘Mosquito Fleet’: A New Maritime Threat in the Strait of Hormuz?

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The Financial Times reported on June 9 (local time) that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)’s so‑called “mosquito fleet” has emerged as a new challenge for U.S. forces operating in the Strait of Hormuz.

According to the FT, the mosquito fleet is made up of hundreds of small, high‑speed boats. Tehran has dispersed these craft discreetly across caves and coastal bases along its southern shore; when ordered, the boats swarm toward the Strait in coordinated groups.

While some are equipped only with machine guns, others carry short‑range missiles, officials and analysts say.

Experts caution that a single fast boat lacks the firepower to sink a U.S. Navy warship or a large tanker on its own. But combined with Iran’s missile and drone forces, the swarm tactics could pose a real threat to commercial traffic and naval operations, potentially disrupting shipping through the waterway.

Joshua Tallis, a researcher at the U.S. think tank the Center for Naval Analyses (CNA), said, “Whether it’s a warship or a fast boat, any approach toward a vessel represents a real and immediate threat to its crew.”

Former U.S. President Donald Trump has downplayed the boats, describing them as little more than a machine gun mounted on the bow. U.S. military officials, however, view the fleet as a difficult asymmetric threat to counter.

CNN has reported that the small craft ride low in the water, making them harder to detect on radar and often delaying their discovery.

Effectively tracking the boats requires helicopters, maritime patrol aircraft and drones, but commanders say predicting where and when the vessels will appear is difficult, complicating response efforts.

The FT notes that as Iran’s conventional navy ages, the mosquito fleet’s strategic importance has increased.

Sidharth Kaushal, a researcher at Britain’s Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), said Iran’s regular navy relies on aging U.S.‑built patrol craft and Russian submarines, some of which are effectively inoperable. He added that Tehran’s actual combat capability increasingly rests on asymmetric forces such as the mosquito fleet.