"There are countless horrible things happening all over the world and horrible people prospering, but we must never allow them to disturb our equanimity or deflect us from our sacred duty to sabotage and annoy them whenever possible." -Auberon Waugh
A very good book on the topic is The Boats of Cherbourg, which I think is out of print but available online.
In short, the Israelis were blindsided when their destroyer Eilat was attacked and sunk by Egyptian missile boats. They realized that they needed a new type of naval warfare, and embarked on a crash program to develop a missile capability of their own. The missile itself, the Gabriel, was only one part of the system. Since they were greatly outranged by the Soviet supplied Styx missile Egypt and Syria had, the Israelis needed superior ECM to enable them to close the range without being hit.
And of course, the third part of the system was the platform itself, the Sa'ar fast missile boat. Built in France, they were paid for and ostensibly owned by the Israelis when DeGaulles decided to... well, be DeGaulle and unilaterally freeze delivery. So the Israelis mounted a modern day pirate operation (or more like a cutting out expedition of the Napoleonic age) and steal their own boats.
Anyway the story is a fascinating one of thinking outside the box to adapt to a sudden change in warfare, all on a shoestring. Compare and contrast to some modern US debacles, say for example the idiotic LCS catastrophe.
Be assured, Israel is learning from this current war what works and what doesn't and will prepare. What Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran learn will just be more "Death to Israel, death to America".
A very good book on the topic is The Boats of Cherbourg, which I think is out of print but available online.
ReplyDeleteIn short, the Israelis were blindsided when their destroyer Eilat was attacked and sunk by Egyptian missile boats. They realized that they needed a new type of naval warfare, and embarked on a crash program to develop a missile capability of their own. The missile itself, the Gabriel, was only one part of the system. Since they were greatly outranged by the Soviet supplied Styx missile Egypt and Syria had, the Israelis needed superior ECM to enable them to close the range without being hit.
And of course, the third part of the system was the platform itself, the Sa'ar fast missile boat. Built in France, they were paid for and ostensibly owned by the Israelis when DeGaulles decided to... well, be DeGaulle and unilaterally freeze delivery. So the Israelis mounted a modern day pirate operation (or more like a cutting out expedition of the Napoleonic age) and steal their own boats.
Anyway the story is a fascinating one of thinking outside the box to adapt to a sudden change in warfare, all on a shoestring. Compare and contrast to some modern US debacles, say for example the idiotic LCS catastrophe.
Some very interesting background, Stephen. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to see if I can find that book.
Be assured, Israel is learning from this current war what works and what doesn't and will prepare. What Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran learn will just be more "Death to Israel, death to America".
ReplyDelete