Diego Garcia's UK protection is the customs & Immigration officers, and the local bobby. That should do the trick. It might be helpful to have an Aegis or two handy, as the hamburgers there are a national treasure.
Gums: I share your concern on the use of buckets, and the delivery system by mundane method is of great concern. I am not sure that the issue has been mitigated by capping the boss, the bosses family except for at least one, his son who is more radicalised than dad, before we took out the sons wife, children, cousins, and a chunk of his body. I fail to see how that has made Miami, Los Angeles, or NY any safer than they were the day before. Seems to me that radicalising the other team must be a cunning part of a devious scheme that I am too simple to comprehend. To that end, got to compliment all concerned in the opsec surrounding what the aim of the mission is here, as a tactic, sure the guys and girls going forth to conduct mayhem will be pleased with that.
It certainly seems that the assistance now afforded to Russia, Iran by the leader of the USA has to be confusing to them as well. The really good news is that anyone within the halls of power of the WH would have an excellent opportunity to short as well as cover the market as it responds to every tweet that is sent forth. That the market reacts is pretty clear, the question is guessing what the next signal will be, which is definitely cunning.
Whether US troops are landed on the shores of Iran is dependent on what the US President needs to do to maintain his reputation as a strong leader, not like those that have gone before, on one hand, and on the other the concern that was evident with the bone spur strategy employed some time earlier. I'm betting on "one small step for man... [a] giant leap for the Office of the President". Am stocking up on popcorn. To avoid that, one would need to have a congress and senate that had an interest in their constitutional obligations, and a cabinet that can read.
CBG within the waters of the gulf is a high risk to the fleet. The interdiction of shipping by Iran needs to be countered, but we need Ukraine style rat cunning not shows of force that expose capital ships to high threat conditions. Using any gun system on a small boat fleet would require a stable platform, which is easy enough to cobble up quickly, so long as recoil is being absorbed. UAV launched from a RIB boat has no such issue, and can be deployed in numbers and complicate the long range drone flight planning process, while interdicting at a distance from land targets, like UAE infrastructure, places of national pride etc, while being able to track near the shipping that it is intended to protect. The problem today is multi faceted, gulf state oil and gas infrastructure is at risk, joining the existing problem of the closure of the straits of Hormuz. Interceptor drones would seem to be worth the effort.
Last edited by fdr; 22nd March 2026 at 18:27.