I'm guessing the Navy is still keeping busy supporting all the ongoing operations. I fully agree that sinking a couple of 40 foot skiffs would be not only a big morale boost, but a signal that piracy is not open for business in these waters. Piracy remains a major threat in the Straits of Malacca and around the thousands of islands of Indonesia (among other places). Obviously this problem has not gone away, and if anything, continues to grow with globalization, the increase of ship-bound good and the decrease of our blue-water navy coupled with continually high committments. Add to that the increased pace of the Chinese, Indian and Russian navy and you have another branch of the U.S. military working overtime.
Ideally the Littoral Combat Ships will provide anti-piracy support for regions such as this. Personally, I'd like to see an increase in Navy "COIN" operations and to some focused operations to destroy pirate boats and conduct limited strikes based on intelligence against the pirate bases of operations. It is not just the ground forces that must shift focus against an asymmetric threat. Piracy (and the great study on the Iranian speedboat warfare) clearly indicates the need for the U.S. Navy to giddy-up and increase their operations in these troubled seas.
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