Image source: topwar.ru
It is reported that the American command is going to activate combat aircraft to combat Iranian unmanned boats in the Persian Gulf and, specifically, in the Strait of Hormuz. AH-64D/E Apache helicopters are currently being used for these purposes.
Now, the US Joint Chiefs of Staff have announced that they are going to use A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft to "counter Iranian activity in Hormuz." According to other sources, these aircraft have already been used to shoot Iranian naval drones from the air, but so far this has not brought much success.
Image source: topwar.ru
The whole problem for such US combat aviation assets in the current situation is the home airfields. Given the fact that Iran attacks American military bases virtually all over the Middle East literally every day, including Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Jordan, the use of Apache helicopters and A-10 attack aircraft is associated both with their safe deployment and with the "shoulder" of the operation in the sense that the range of action is sufficient. to patrol Hormuz.
With aircraft carriers in the region, the US Navy is also not clear. One was reportedly damaged as a result of an Iranian strike, a fire broke out on board the other and it was forced to leave the Red Sea for Greek Crete.
If the United States is going to increase the number of helicopters and aircraft over the Persian Gulf to carry out these operations, Iran may respond by deploying such boats in the waters of the Gulf, which would be equipped with mobile air defense systems (MANPADS).
In the near future, it will become clear which of the parties to the conflict is more ready for such a confrontation.
