Iraq Jet Fires Missiles Near U.S. Warship

An Iraqi jet bomber fired two long-range cruise missiles within eight miles of the U.S. destroyer Chandler on Friday night as the vessel was escorting a convoy of four reflagged tankers on their way to Kuwait’s oil terminals, according to a media pool report.

Although the Chandler and its convoy were not the apparent targets of the missile attack, the destroyer fired two flares from its five-inch guns to warn the Iraqi Badger bomber that it was approaching too close to the U.S. warship, the report said.

Cmdr. Steve Smith, captain of the Chandler, said he was concerned because Iraqi pilots often fire at radar blips without confirming the identity of their targets.

Smith told a small group of reporters who boarded the ship as part of the Pentagon’s Persian Gulf press pool that the Iraqi pilot fired two Soviet-made C-601 missiles, a 50-mile-range, air-launched version of the Styx, which China copied in producing its far better known Silkworm missile.

Smith said that both missiles passed astern of the Chandler, the last ship in the convoy, but that one of the rockets suddenly changed course and passed along the starboard side of the ship before veering away to the right.

Seconds later, it detonated, producing a bright flash on the horizon. There was no immediate indication whether the missile had hit a target or had crashed harmlessly into the sea.

Smith said it was the closest approach of a missile to his ship, which has been on station in the Persian Gulf since last Nov. 25. The Chandler is flagship of the Navy’s tanker escort squadron, which also includes six frigates.

Smith placed his crew on “general quarters,” the Navy’s highest state of alert, after the Iraqi plane turned back north and headed straight for the Chandler.

Smith said he was prepared to try to shoot down the incoming missile if it had appeared to be on a course that would strike any ship in the convoy. He readied the Standard anti-aircraft missile, shoulder-fired Stinger missiles and the automatic-firing Phalanx gun.

Smith said he informed the Iraqi plane by radio that it was approaching a U.S. convoy and ordered it to turn back. He said the Iraqi pilot, who did not speak English very well, did not seem to comprehend.

Smith said he then warned the Iraqi that he planned to fire two “illumination rounds” from the ship’s powerful five-inch gun. As soon as the flares went off, he said, the Iraqi turned sharply away from the ship and fired both of the C-601 missiles.