Swarm Tactics

A short story published on sina.com in late February shows four interesting photos from a Chinese convoy of ships near the gulf of Aden. The caption for each picture is quoted below each photo.

The first, from a Chinese helicopter, shows a group transit of merchant vessels, reportedly numbering 31 ships. Just guessing on the speed, I’d say they’re sailing at about 14 knots. Note how calm the seas appear to be. Prime sailing conditions for pirates.

Sina.com caption: “A helicopter of the Chinese naval fleet patrols above the Gulf of Aden to ensure ships' safety from pirates, February 25, 2010. (Xinhua Photo)”

The second picture, below, shows about 16 or so small skiffs. The caption says “50 suspected pirate vessels.” They could be fishing but that’s unlikely. It appears that least six of them have picked up speed and taken a course toward what might be the third or fourth merchant ship. Look closely at the merchant ship in this photo. It appears that the vessel may have already been alerted to the skiffs and has charged and activated fire hoses, at least near the superstructure.

Sina.com caption: About 50 suspected pirate vessels approach a ship escorted by the Chinese naval fleet in the Gulf of Aden, Feb. 25, 2010. The vessels harassed the 31 Chinese and foreign ships that the naval fleet was escorting. They were driven out soon after the fleet dispatched vessels and helicopters. (Xinhua Photo)

Nothing much to note here, except that they’re moving away. They’re not waving hello.

Sina.com caption: A suspected pirate vessel is driven out by the Chinese naval fleet in the Gulf of Aden, February 25, 2010. (Xinhua Photo)

The last of the four pictures is more difficult to analyze because it appears to be taken from the deck of a ship. The shallow angle makes it difficult to discern how close the skiffs actually are to the merchant vessel. Zooming in, it looks like there could be one or two skiffs close aboard. Again, just guessing, but the rest could be between 100 and 300 yards away. What is clear is that the merchant is using fire hoses.

Sina.com caption: Suspected pirate vessels harass a ship escorted by the Chinese naval fleet in the Gulf of Aden, February 25, 2010. (Xinhua Photo)

The fact that it is difficult to make out all the skiffs in this picture is important because it demonstrates how difficult it is to see these small boats from the deck of a ship, even at close range. It highlights the importance of aircraft, such as helicopters, P-3C Orion patrol aircraft, and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. Also of utility in this environment would be an airborne 360-degree radar platform such as the E-2C Hawkeye. Without such aircraft patrolling the wide expanse of water to get the perspective shown in the first and second pictures above, this group transit may not have had enough warning to recognize and prepare for an attack.

CNAS Fellow Andrew Exum blogged about Iranian swarming tactics two years ago (and cross-posted here) describing the harassment of three U.S. Navy ships by Iranian speedboats near the Straits of Hormuz. In that post, Exum included an “explainer” for Iranian swarming tactics excerpted from this article. It could be argued that what we see in these photos is technically not a swarming attack because such an attack originates from several different directions at once. If what we’re seeing is an attack, however, it does appear that these skiffs are operating en masse, in coordination and attempting to use mobility to their advantage.

A book on piracy that I highly recommend to anyone wanting to know more about piracy: Contemporary Piracy and Maritime Terrorism by Martin N. Murphy.