attack the U.S. Navy in the event of a war.
Only two of the hi-tech, 51-foot speedboats—capable of soaring over the water at a top speed of 82 miles per hour (132 kph)—were ever built. One was used to set the record for circumnavigating the British Isles in 2005, where it averaged 61.5 mph (99 kph) over 27 hours.
After that, the Bladerunner 51 was advertised for sale as “the ultimate toy for someone looking for something a little bit special.”
The Financial Times of London reported Sunday that Iran tried to buy it then, but the sale was blocked by the U.K. Department of Trade and Industry.
But that didn’t discourage Iran. After the boat went through the hands of two intermediate owners, the Financial Times reported that in January 2009, the United States discovered the boat had been sold to the Pasdaran and was about to be loaded on a container ship in South Africa for transport to the Persian Gulf. The Americans asked South Africa to block the shipment.
The Financial Times said it was told the container ship sailed with the boat on board because no one in South Africa saw the American request, sent by fax over a weekend, in time.
The Financial Times asserted that the U.S. Special Forces were prepared to assault the container ship and remove the Bladerunner 51. But it said the operation was called off at the last minute.
For two decades, the Pasdar maritime arm has been specializing in gathering hundreds of small and swift boats and practicing “swarming” tactics, where the boats try to attack a big warship and disable it by the sheer volume of platforms on the attack. The Pasdaran maritime force uses Swedish Boghammer boats plus various Chinese and North Korean speed craft.
While the Bladerunner 51 is but one boat, there is speculation Iran would like to reverse engineer it, and especially copy its unique hull design. It is also widely suspected that Iran would install some of its anti-ship missiles on the Bladerunner 51.
There is considerable debate over how effective the “swarming” tactics would be against a major American warship. The U.S. Navy has talked about the threat for almost a quarter century and has laid classified plans for thwarting such an attack, but no really knows what might happen since an attack by a swarm of small boats has never been used in warfare. Craig Hooper, a naval strategist based in San Francisco, doesn’t think Iran poses much of a threat. “A small, fast boat navy is nothing more than a surprise strike and harassment force,” he told the Financial Times. “Every time small, fast boats run into helicopters, the helicopters win.”
The Bladerunner is powered by two U.S.-made Caterpillar engines. Its construction was financed in part by Navatek, a Hawaii-based defense contractor that says it is developing a combat version.
