In the March 2026 assessment, mines are probably the principal Iranian threat in the Strait of Hormuz, alongside missiles and drones. Rapidly fitting merchant ships with Phalanx and short-range air-defence missiles would offer no protection from mines. The proposed defensive case is that larger attack drones would be detected and engaged by airborne warning aircraft and other systems in the area. Smaller drones that evade those defences would probably be vulnerable to Phalanx. This would give merchant crews greater confidence against drones, provided suitable systems were available to fit. The historical comparison is with World War II merchant armament drawn from surplus World War I guns, a stockpile advantage absent from the modern situation described.
Notable Point · 1:16:25-1:18:12
The March 2026 Hormuz case for merchant self-defence
The Strait of Hormuz case separates the mine threat from drones and missiles that rapidly fitted close-in defences could help merchant ships survive.