How a weaker navy can challenge a stronger one

How can a force with a limited economic base challenge a much larger navy?

By changing the engagement conditions and pursuing asymmetry, although sea-based concealment is difficult and costly.

The weaker force's best prospect is to alter the engagement conditions so the stronger navy cannot fight entirely on its own terms. Iran is offered as an example of a navy driven toward asymmetric methods because a conventional contest would be hopeless. The maritime environment makes guerrilla-style warfare harder than on land because small craft and submarines have fewer places to hide. Even concealment below the surface demands a genuinely quiet submarine, and achieving that standard is technically difficult and expensive.