“60 Drones, 27 Attack Boats, and Hidden Submarines: The 12 Minutes That Nearly Sank U.S. Warships in the Strait of Hormuz.lh

The true danger had been waiting below.

Two Iranian Kilo-class diesel-electric submarines had remained silent on the seabed, using the chaos above as cover. As the destroyers focused on aerial and surface threats, the submarines launched four heavyweight wake-homing torpedoes—designed specifically to kill surface combatants in confined waters.

Suddenly, the tactical equation changed.

Evading torpedoes required sharp maneuvers—yet maneuvering would reduce defensive fire against remaining threats. The Strait’s narrow geography offered little room for error.