Iran BLOCKED Hormuz With 300 Mines and 50 Attack Boats – US Navy Broke Through in 6 Hours

Iran BLOCKED Hormuz With 300 Mines and 50 Attack Boats — US Navy Broke Through in 6 Hours

At 3:15 a.m., the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) executed Operation Sovereign Shield, a bold maneuver aimed at blocking the Strait of Hormuz.

Within four hours, 300 sea mines were strategically deployed across both shipping lanes of this vital maritime corridor.

The operation was characterized by deliberate deception; dozens of Dows, traditional wooden Arab fishing vessels, departed Iranian ports simultaneously under the cover of darkness.

Each Dow carried 8 to 10 mines concealed beneath fishing nets and equipment, allowing for a stealthy deployment.

The mines were rolled off stern ramps using simple wooden slides, creating minimal signature as they splashed into the water.

The entire mine-laying operation consumed three hours, and while American reconnaissance satellites and signals intelligence detected increased small vessel activity, they could not distinguish mining operations from routine night fishing—exactly what IRGC planners had calculated.

At 5:20 a.m., the Greek oil tanker Aian Voyager struck an EM52 bottom influence mine in the southern shipping lane.

The explosion, equivalent to 300 kg of TNT, breached the hull beneath the waterline, causing the vessel to flood and forcing 25 crew members to evacuate to lifeboats.

Oil began spreading across the surface

Just five minutes later, the container ship Mars Doha struck a Satiff 02 mine in the northern channel.

Though damaged, it remained afloat.

Following these incidents, Lloyd’s of London declared the Strait of Hormuz a war risk zone, leading to the withdrawal of insurance coverage and halting all commercial traffic.

The Strait was effectively closed.

In response to the blockade, 50 IRGC fast attack boats occupied positions along the Iranian coast from Bandar Abbas to Jazque.

Additionally, three Kilo-class submarines had departed Bandar Abbas twelve hours prior to the blockade, with their current positions unknown.

Coastal missile batteries known as Norin Gator were activated, with 24 launchers targeting both shipping channels.

Oil prices surged from $67 to $95 per barrel within two hours, sending global markets into a panic as 20% of the world’s traded oil was suddenly shut off.

At 5:45 a.m., United States Central Command received an executive order: reopen the Strait and destroy all threats while minimizing civilian vessel damage.

The mission was divided into four phases:

Neutralize the submarines.
Suppress coastal missile batteries threatening clearing operations.
Eliminate the fast attack boat threat.
Clear mines and restore navigation

The problem was straightforward to state but complex to execute: clear 300 mines from 40 km of water while three submarines, 50 attack boats, and 24 coastal missile launchers attempted to stop the operation.

Mine sweepers could not enter the Strait while the Kilo-class submarines remained operational, as a single torpedo could destroy a wooden mine sweeper.

Two P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft from the USS Abraham Lincoln deployed sonar patterns across the entire Strait, utilizing dozens of passive acoustic sensors to listen for diesel engine signatures, electric motor noise, and propeller cavitation.

Kilo-class submarines running on battery power are among the quietest in the world, described in Russian naval literature as “black holes” in ocean acoustics.

The first submarine was detected 40 minutes into the search when it activated its diesel generators for battery recharge.

The sound signature registered on Sonoy number 47, and coordinates were transmitted to an SH-60 Seahawk helicopter from the destroyer USS Mitcher (DDG-57).

The helicopter launched a Mark 54 lightweight torpedo, which acquired the target and achieved terminal guidance before impact, destroying the first Kilo-class submarine.

The second submarine was located using magnetic anomaly detection, with the P-8 Poseidon’s tail-mounted MAD sensor registering distortion in the Earth’s magnetic field caused by the submarine’s steel hull.

Two Mark 54 torpedoes were launched from the helicopter, both impacting and destroying the second Kilo.

The third submarine posed the greatest challenge, operating in complete acoustic silence without a thermal signature or detectable sound.

The USS Virginia-class attack submarine, accompanying the Lincoln carrier strike group, received hunter-killer orders.

The Virginia descended to a depth of 150 meters and reduced its speed to 5 knots, maintaining acoustic stealth.

After two hours of methodical searching, the crew detected faint broadband noise, classifying the signature as that of a Kilo-class submarine.

With the commander confirming the classification as hostile, the torpedo tube was flooded, and the outer door opened.

A Mark 48 ADCAP torpedo was launched, and although the Kilo’s sonar operator heard the launch sounds, it was too late.

The torpedo, traveling at 55 knots, closed the distance quickly, and active sonar homing during the terminal phase led to the destruction of the third Kilo-class submarine.

With all three submarines neutralized, the entire Iranian oceangoing submarine fleet was eliminated.

Next, the U.S. Navy turned its attention to the 24 coastal missile launchers positioned along the Iranian shoreline.

The Norin Gator batteries, equipped with extended-range variants, targeted shipping lanes with anti-ship missiles.

To suppress these coastal missile batteries, F/A-18E Super Hornets and EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft initiated a suppression campaign

The first wave was detected by the E-2D Hawkeye at a distance of 60 km, prompting four Super Hornets to divert.

Instead of using expensive Harpoon missiles on small boat targets, the U.S. Navy opted for strafing runs with the M61 Vulcan gun and CBU-97 cluster munitions.

Eight boats were destroyed before they could achieve launch positions, but 12 remaining boats from the first wave launched 18 C701 missiles targeting mine sweepers and escorts.

The USS Mitcher and USS Delbert D. Black (DDG-119) engaged the incoming missiles with RIM-162 ESSM and RIM-116 RAM point defense missiles, successfully intercepting 16 missiles.

However, two missed their targets independently.

In the second wave, the 30 boats accelerated to 50 knots.

Four AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters were deployed from the USS Pertain amphibious assault ship, engaging the majority of targets with AGM-114 Hellfire missiles.

One Paykan-class boat managed to penetrate the defensive perimeter and closed to 800 meters from the mine sweeper USS Dextrous.

The boat’s heavy machine gunner opened fire, wounding two sailors with splinters—the only American casualties of the entire operation.

The Dextrous, lacking heavy armament, responded with its sole defensive weapon, the M2 Browning .50 caliber machine gun

As the gun crew returned fire while maneuvering, a Hellfire missile from an orbiting Viper struck the attack boat, eliminating the threat.

In total, 64 Hellfire missiles were fired over 12 minutes, resulting in 24 boats destroyed.

Six boats reversed course, while 50 attack boats had been launched, with 40 destroyed and 10 retreating.

Remarkably, no American ships were struck.

The USS Dextrous (MCM-13) and USS Cincinnati (MCM-3), both Avenger-class mine countermeasure ships, entered the southern shipping channel.

Their wooden hulls and non-magnetic construction allowed them to navigate without triggering mines.

The A/SQ-32 sonar scanned the seabed, requiring classification of every object detected.

In the first hour, 40 mines were identified.

MH-53E Sea Dragon heavy-lift helicopters were deployed with magnetic and acoustic influence sweep systems.

During one sweep run, a mine detonated 200 meters from a Sea Dragon helicopter, creating a 60-meter geyser that struck the helicopter’s underside and caused it to lose 50 feet in altitude.

The pilot fought to regain control, and the helicopter continued operations.

Every mine represented a potential catastrophe, and mine sweepers advanced at a cautious pace of 5 knots.

Each meter traversed could be fatal.

The crews of Dextrous and Cincinnati consisted of 80 personnel each, making them the smallest combat vessels in the fleet, with no armor protection or missile systems—only sonar equipment for their safety.

After two hours of operation, 80 mines were neutralized.

Knife Fish unmanned underwater vehicles surveyed the seabed, utilizing synthetic aperture sonar to detect mines that were invisible to surface sonar.

Once classified, remotely operated vehicles approached with shaped charges to destroy the mines individually.

MQ-8C Fire Scout unmanned helicopters equipped with airborne laser mine detection systems scanned the water column using blue-green lasers, detecting moored mines by shadow and silhouette.

Coordinates were transmitted to surface units, and over the course of three hours of concentrated work, 160 mines were detected, with 120 neutralized.

By 11:15 a.m., the first test transit was conducted by the destroyer USS Delbert D. Black, which passed through the cleared southern corridor without incident

At 11:20 a.m., the second corridor was tested by the littoral combat ship USS Cincinnati, confirming safe passage.

Both channels were reopened.

In summary, Iran’s attempt to block the Strait of Hormuz was met with a swift and decisive response from the U.S. Navy.

The operation resulted in the destruction of three Kilo-class submarines, 40 fast attack boats, and 18 coastal missile batteries, with 300 mines deployed and 120 neutralized within six hours.

The estimated total loss for Iran ranged from $3 to $4 billion, with each Kilo-class submarine valued at approximately $250 million.

The American losses were negligible: zero ships lost or damaged, zero aircraft lost, and only two sailors wounded by shrapnel from a near-miss explosion.

Commercial losses included one tanker sunk and one container ship damaged, causing oil prices to spike from $67 to $95 at their peak, stabilizing at $78 after the quarter reopening.

The Strait of Hormuz, which had been fully closed for six hours, was reopened and restored to normal operations within three weeks.

Iran executed its most feared contingency: a total closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

However, that blockade lasted less time than a standard work shift.

The strategic card Iran played was gone just six hours later.

While events are dramatized, the weapon systems, mine warfare capabilities, and naval assets described reflect the actual operational reality of both the Iranian military and the United States Navy