Word: escort
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...Certainly the Stark, a lightly armed escort vessel, had an impressive array of aerial defenses. The ship's Mk 92 fire-control system can guide an antiaircraft missile to intercept incoming aircraft up to 90 miles away. Closer in, its Italian-made OTO gun can fire 3-in. antiaircraft shells at a rate of 90 a minute, dealing sequentially with as many as three incoming intruders at a range of up to twelve miles. Rockets that spray radar- attracting aluminum chaff can divert incoming missiles, and the frigate's electronic defenses can deceive attackers by producing fake radar images...
...weaponry, a relatively inexpensive frigate like the Stark is not made to fight on its own. With medium-range striking power and armor less than an inch thick (the plating on the battleship New Jersey is up to 17 inches thick), the Stark is an escort ship designed for what Naval Analyst Bruce Linder calls a "low-threat environment" far less intense than what a naval battle group would encounter in wartime. The Navy is acquiring 50 of these Perry-class frigates, the largest class of U.S. combat ships built since 1945. Linder predicts that the ship "may quickly confront...
...case-by-case basis, given the situation in the Persian Gulf, we will escort [such] shipments to friendly non-belligerent countries," the statement added...
...Defense Department, in a statement released in response to press queries, said it decided to offer escort protection to the vessel because "it is important that the United States remain a reliable supplier of defense items to friendly countries...
...disclosure came as a surprise because the Reagan administration had previously announced plans only to provide escort protection to Kuwaiti oil tankers that changed their registry to the U.S. flag. That protection is expected to begin sometime early next month, according to Pentagon sources...