Iran New Stealth Boats and Missiles

[Knut Hamsun]

You can see why it has such short range. It is also extremely LOUD. And impossible to steer. And basically unstable because after all it is suspended in a pocket of steam. That the Iranians managed to build a copy, if that is what they did, is pretty impressive. Now see if they can make it work.

hmmm. So there is some kind of rocket combustion at the front, you say, which heats some water into steam and then (this is the really interesting dynamic) the steam pocket must be sort of distributed equally around the body of the missle/or since the steam is always in front of the missle, it will always follow into the pocket? Re: the instability, yeah, the pressure variation of the steam vs. the outside water would cause problems with steering, etc.

Myself I am reminded of nothing so much as 1967 when Egypt too had secret wonder weapons. That did not end well.
No, that did not end well, *cough*. I wonder what all of this Iranian sabre-rattling PR "look at our arsenal" rubbish actually means? Are they the peacock with pretty feathers but no bite or....? I guess, as with almost all weapons/arms races, the "idea" of a state possessing a certain capability is just as powerful as actually having that capability. Hopefully this is just some "defensive PR", not some 12th Imam Amahadinnerjacket offensive special recipe!

 

[HeiGou]

hmmm. So there is some kind of rocket combustion at the front, you say, which heats some water into steam and then (this is the really interesting dynamic) the steam pocket must be sort of distributed equally around the body of the missle/or since the steam is always in front of the missle, it will always follow into the pocket? Re: the instability, yeah, the pressure variation of the steam vs. the outside water would cause problems with steering, etc.

If the rocket just pushes forward, the steam will be distributed along the length of the body. It also tries to create cavitation which is harder to explain so I won't. But it is basically steam bubbles again. But no part of the rocket ought to touch water if possible. So it is "flying" in steam. How do you steer it apart from moving the rocket nozzle? How is it kept stable with no water to hold it up and provide resistance? What happens if you are going 250 km/hr and you try and turn and the rocket touches the water somewhere along its length? Water is like rock at that speed. As I said, amazing if the Iranians got it to work at all.

Myself I am reminded of nothing so much as 1967 when Egypt too had secret wonder weapons. That did not end well.

No, that did not end well, *cough*. I wonder what all of this Iranian sabre-rattling PR "look at our arsenal" rubbish actually means? Are they the peacock with pretty feathers but no bite or....? I guess, as with almost all weapons/arms races, the "idea" of a state possessing a certain capability is just as powerful as actually having that capability. Hopefully this is just some "defensive PR", not some 12th Imam Amahadinnerjacket offensive special recipe!

Well presumably they are following the frog defence - if you've got nothing puff yourself up big and look threatening. I don't like to engage in Middle Eastern stereotypes but I am also reminded by Comical Ali - Saddam's great spokesperson.

The more they blow their own trumpets, in my opinion, the less we have to worry about them. If they were serious they would keep silent. Look at their support for the insurgents in Iran.