In a fascinating and absorbing discussion host Iain Ballantyne and guest Tom Sharpe discuss the US Navy destroyer USS Carney shooting down cruise missiles and drones over the Red Sea. As a former warship captain, Tom provides deeply insightful expert analysis on how the incident may have unfolded.

But the podcast first grips listeners with Tom’s insider perspective on tense anti-terrorist patrols aboard British frigates in the northern Arabian Gulf and facing the Iranian threat in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iain and Tom then consider the naval side of the Israel-Hamas crisis, not least the USA moving its nuclear-powered strike carriers around the geopolitical chessboard and what missions they and British vessels may undertake in the Mediterranean.

For more on the naval events discussed in this podcast get the December 2023 edition of Warships IFR - packed with commentaries, analysis, and news from the global naval scene! 

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•Tom Sharpe writes about the rigours of commanding a warship against the Iranian threat in the Strait of Hormuz in the forthcoming ‘Warships IFR Guide to the Royal Navy 2024’ https://bit.ly/GRN24e which is out on 14.11.23.

Tom spent 27 years in the Royal Navy, 20 of which were at sea. He commanded four different warships, including a fishery protection vessel, a Type 23 frigate (HMS St Albans), and the ice patrol vessel, HMS Endurance. Today he is a partner at SPP, an international communications consultancy, and also writes for The Daily Telegraph,  and occasionally for Warships IFR. 

Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @TomSharpe134

•Iain Ballantyne is the Editor of Warships IFR and both its ‘Guide to the Royal Navy’ and ‘Guide to the US Navy’. He is the author of several books, including ‘Strike from the Sea’, which tells the story of the British and American navies at war in Middle East waters from the 1940s to the early 2000s. It is partly based on his numerous visits to warships on front-line operations. 

Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @IBallantyn