Like clockwork, every four months or so, one Iranian official or another will threaten to close the Strait of Hormuz. The Pentagon assumes that Iran would seek to carry out its threats with mines, and so has deployed extra mine-sweepers to the region. Certainly, the Iranian navy would not be a match for the U.S. Navy. Anti-ship missiles are another concern, but it is a safe bet that not only the Defense Intelligence Agency, but also the militaries and intelligence agencies of most regional states, keep an eye on Iranian mobile missile launchers.
The latest news from Iran—if true—should raise new concerns and could undercut U.S. strategy for keeping the waterway open.
While Tehran is prone to fantastic—and false—claims regarding its unmanned aerial vehicles, it is also true that it has made progress. Late last month, the Persian-language press reported successful tests of “suicide drones.” Such reports might be exaggerated, but it doesn’t take the most advanced technology to ram drones—perhaps packed with explosives—into ships (or helicopters, or other targets). If the U.S. Navy is assuming that Iranian mines pose the biggest problem for international shipping, the Iranians may have a surprise in store. It’s not 1988 anymore.
By and large, drone aircraft, "suicidal" or not, should pose no more serious threat for the US Navy (and Air Force) to dispose of than Iran's manned aircraft. Either or both will be quickly grounded or destroyed.
Unfortunately that is not the case. Unlike manned aircraft drones do not need large airfields to operate. Those can be launched, literally, from, any reasonably even stretch of a dirt road,.
I'm not sure why it matters where they might be launched. US warships at sea have multiple systems to detect and destroy airborne threats, and such drones, which generally operate at speeds as low as 100mph, are certainly less of a danger than almost any Iranian jet fighter or bomber. Mines and anti-ship missiles remain the most potent hazards.
It should be communicated, in no uncertain terms, that for any drone that attacks American assets, a city in Iran will be leveled.
The issue isn't American warships, it's international shipping.