Word: vessel
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...Stark and other members of the Navy's Middle East patrol were showing the flag in the Persian Gulf. The Administration believed neither of the warring nations would dare attack a vessel traveling in the shadow of a U.S. warship for fear of American retaliation. Says a State Department official of the display of American military might in the gulf: "It's what gives our policy teeth." Following America's lead, Soviet naval boats also began patrolling the gulf...
...U.S.S.R. navy frigate, struck a mine some 35 miles from the Kuwaiti coast. There were no casualties, but the tanker was effectively crippled. On May 6, an Iranian gunboat opened fire on a 6,459- ton Soviet freighter; it marked the first time that Iran had struck a vessel traveling under the flag of a superpower. The Iranian government reportedly assured the Soviets that the assault was unauthorized and had been waged by a rogue band of Revolutionary Guards. The Soviets accepted the explanation and did not retaliate...
...often true in the Persian Gulf, the seas were placid, and the sailors standing watch aboard the U.S.S. Stark could see an endless display of stars in the clear evening sky. The sleek vessel, 445 ft. long and 45 ft. at the beam, slipped quietly through the water at a mere four knots. Under the subdued lights of the combat information center inside the warship's superstructure, sonar operators watched their blue-green screens and listened with headphones for the pinging sounds that would indicate the presence of underwater mines...
...virtually due west, well off the frigate's port bow. At that point, no one on the American ship had particular reason for alarm. As Brindel said later, Iraqi warplanes "commonly come down the gulf and pass within close distances." None of them had ever attacked a U.S. vessel. Even the Iranians, whom the Americans considered a greater threat, often flew their jets within missile range of U.S. warships but would back off after receiving radio warnings...
...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...