![\"\ud638\ub974\ubb34\uc988\ud574\ud611.\"](\"https:\/\/cdn-union.tenbizt.com\/contents\/crawler-dev\/image\/2026\/05\/CP-2023-0083\/image-6f1d65c3-df84-46bc-b3dc-784be47230fa.png\")
[Herald Economy = Reporter Eun-ji Choi] The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps\u2019 so\u2011called \u201cmosquito fleet,\u201d dispersed in bays and caves along Iran\u2019s southern coast, has emerged as a persistent problem for the U.S. Navy.<\/p>\n
On the 9th (local time), the Financial Times and other outlets reported that the mosquito fleet is made up of hundreds of small, high\u2011speed boats. When ordered, these craft swarm into the Strait of Hormuz to demonstrate Tehran\u2019s ability to control the waterway.<\/p>\n
Analysts say the boats carry weapons ranging from machine guns to short\u2011range missiles, making them an immediate threat to modern warships and tankers.<\/p>\n
Former President Donald Trump dismissed Iran\u2019s speedboats as \u201cjust fast with a machine gun on the bow,\u201d calling them \u201conly fast.\u201d Experts, however, warn that the assessment is shortsighted.<\/p>\n
The mosquito fleet is a central element of Iran\u2019s asymmetric maritime strategy. While it would likely not be able to directly sink a U.S. aircraft carrier, it is sufficiently capable of disrupting sea lines of communication and commercial shipping.<\/p>\n
Its chief advantage is survivability through stealth. Small, fast boats hug the sea surface, making visual detection difficult and often delaying radar detection until it\u2019s too late.<\/p>\n
To counter them, the U.S. must keep helicopters and drones on persistent patrol. Those assets improve surveillance but cannot fully eliminate the risk of sudden Iranian sorties.<\/p>\n
Iran\u2019s emphasis on these asymmetric forces reflects the aging condition of its conventional navy. The Royal United Services Institute notes that Iran\u2019s regular navy still depends on U.S.-built patrol ships and aging submarines from the Pahlavi era, leaving many vessels effectively unserviceable. In contrast, the mosquito fleet has, since the 1980s Iran\u2011Iraq War, carried out boarding attacks, cargo damage, and mine\u2011laying missions, becoming the practical backbone of Iran\u2019s naval capability.<\/p>\n
Current estimates put the IRGC\u2019s inventory at roughly 500\u20131,000 speedboats plus more than 1,000 unmanned craft, including explosive drone boats and unmanned surface vehicles. The FT warns that if Iran were to levy de facto \u201ctolls\u201d on ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz after a conflict, the mosquito fleet would likely be the primary instrument of enforcement.<\/p>\n
On the 4th, the U.S. signaled firm resolve by launching the \u201cLiberation Project\u201d and using Apache helicopters to destroy six Iranian speedboats on day one. Still, analysts question whether U.S. forces can sustain the costly level of control required in a prolonged campaign that leverages Iran\u2019s geographic advantages.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Iran’s ‘mosquito fleet’ poses a significant threat to U.S. naval operations, utilizing small fast boats to disrupt maritime supply lines.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/cdn-union.tenbizt.com\/contents\/crawler-dev\/thumbnail\/2026\/05\/CP-2023-0083\/thumb-667eb871-fab3-49bf-b5f7-3f46a6c36c13.jpg","footnotes":""},"categories":[278104],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-259925","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-military"],"yoast_head":"\n