At 3:15 a.m., the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) executed Operation Sovereign Shield, a bold maneuver aimed at blocking the Strait of Hormuz.

Within four hours, 300 sea mines were strategically deployed across both shipping lanes of this vital maritime corridor.

The operation was characterized by deliberate deception; dozens of Dows, traditional wooden Arab fishing vessels, departed Iranian ports simultaneously under the cover of darkness.

Each Dow carried 8 to 10 mines concealed beneath fishing nets and equipment, allowing for a stealthy deployment.

The mines were rolled off stern ramps using simple wooden slides, creating minimal signature as they splashed into the water.

The entire mine-laying operation consumed three hours, and while American reconnaissance satellites and signals intelligence detected increased small vessel activity, they could not distinguish mining operations from routine night fishing—exactly what IRGC planners had calculated.

At 5:20 a.m., the Greek oil tanker Aian Voyager struck an EM52 bottom influence mine in the southern shipping lane.

The explosion, equivalent to 300 kg of TNT, breached the hull beneath the waterline, causing the vessel to flood and forcing 25 crew members to evacuate to lifeboats.

Oil began spreading across the surface.

Just five minutes later, the container ship Mars Doha struck a Satiff 02 mine in the northern channel.

Though damaged, it remained afloat.

Following these incidents, Lloyd’s of London declared the Strait of Hormuz a war risk zone, leading to the withdrawal of insurance coverage and halting all commercial traffic.

The Strait was effectively closed.

In response to the blockade, 50 IRGC fast attack boats occupied positions along the Iranian coast from Bandar Abbas to Jazque.

Additionally, three Kilo-class submarines had departed Bandar Abbas twelve hours prior to the blockade, with their current positions unknown.

Coastal missile batteries known as Norin Gator were activated, with 24 launchers targeting both shipping channels.

Oil prices surged from $67 to $95 per barrel within two hours, sending global markets into a panic as 20% of the world’s traded oil was suddenly shut off.

At 5:45 a.m., United States Central Command received an executive order: reopen the Strait and destroy all threats while minimizing civilian vessel damage.

The mission was divided into four phases:

Neutralize the submarines.
Suppress coastal missile batteries threatening clearing operations.
Eliminate the fast attack boat threat.
Clear mines and restore navigation.

The problem was straightforward to state but complex to execute: clear 300 mines from 40 km of water while three submarines, 50 attack boats, and 24 coastal missile launchers attempted to stop the operation.

Mine sweepers could not enter the Strait while the Kilo-class submarines remained operational, as a single torpedo could destroy a wooden mine sweeper.

Two P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft from the USS Abraham Lincoln deployed sonar patterns across the entire Strait, utilizing dozens of passive acoustic sensors to listen for diesel engine signatures, electric motor noise, and propeller cavitation.

Kilo-class submarines running on battery power are among the quietest in the world, described in Russian naval literature as “black holes” in ocean acoustics.

The first submarine was detected 40 minutes into the search when it activated its diesel generators for battery recharge.

The sound signature registered on Sonoy number 47, and coordinates were transmitted to an SH-60 Seahawk helicopter from the destroyer USS Mitcher (DDG-57).

The helicopter launched a Mark 54 lightweight torpedo, which acquired the target and achieved terminal guidance before impact, destroying the first Kilo-class submarine.

The second submarine was located using magnetic anomaly detection, with the P-8 Poseidon’s tail-mounted MAD sensor registering distortion in the Earth’s magnetic field caused by the submarine’s steel hull.

Two Mark 54 torpedoes were launched from the helicopter, both impacting and destroying the second Kilo.

The third submarine posed the greatest challenge, operating in complete acoustic silence without a thermal signature or detectable sound.

The USS Virginia-class attack submarine, accompanying the Lincoln carrier strike group, received hunter-killer orders.

The Virginia descended to a depth of 150 meters and reduced its speed to 5 knots, maintaining acoustic stealth.

After two hours of methodical searching, the crew detected faint broadband noise, classifying the signature as that of a Kilo-class submarine.

With the commander confirming the classification as hostile, the torpedo tube was flooded, and the outer door opened.

A Mark 48 ADCAP torpedo was launched, and although the Kilo’s sonar operator heard the launch sounds, it was too late.

The torpedo, traveling at 55 knots, closed the distance quickly, and active sonar homing during the terminal phase led to the destruction of the third Kilo-class submarine.

With all three submarines neutralized, the entire Iranian oceangoing submarine fleet was eliminated.

Next, the U.S. Navy turned its attention to the 24 coastal missile launchers positioned along the Iranian shoreline.

The Norin Gator batteries, equipped with extended-range variants, targeted shipping lanes with anti-ship missiles.

To suppress these coastal missile batteries, F/A-18E Super Hornets and EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft initiated a suppression campaign.

The Growlers detected radar emissions from the missile batteries and identified launcher positions, launching AGM-88 HARM anti-radiation missiles that destroyed the radar vehicles.

However, the mobile launchers relocated after each engagement, making it imperative to destroy all 24 before mine sweeping operations could safely commence.

The solution involved deploying E-2D Advanced Hawkeye radar aircraft and F-35C Lightning II stealth fighters.

The F-35s utilized their distributed aperture system, which included six infrared cameras providing spherical coverage to detect thermal signatures of missile launches.

Over the course of 90 minutes, 18 of the 24 launchers were destroyed.

The six remaining launchers ceased activity and withdrew deep into the mountain terrain.

One Gator battery launched two missiles at the destroyer USS Mitcher before being located, but both incoming missiles were intercepted by SM-2 Block 3B interceptors.

Following the suppression of the coastal missile launchers, the IRGC command observed the submarine losses and transmitted suppression orders to the fast boat flotillas.

A swarm attack was initiated, with 50 boats departing concealed positions along the Iranian coast.

The first wave consisted of 20 Zulfagar-class boats armed with C701 anti-ship missiles, while the second wave included 30 high-speed boats equipped with rockets and heavy machine guns.

The first wave was detected by the E-2D Hawkeye at a distance of 60 km, prompting four Super Hornets to divert.

Instead of using expensive Harpoon missiles on small boat targets, the U.S. Navy opted for strafing runs with the M61 Vulcan gun and CBU-97 cluster munitions.

Eight boats were destroyed before they could achieve launch positions, but 12 remaining boats from the first wave launched 18 C701 missiles targeting mine sweepers and escorts.

The USS Mitcher and USS Delbert D. Black (DDG-119) engaged the incoming missiles with RIM-162 ESSM and RIM-116 RAM point defense missiles, successfully intercepting 16 missiles.

However, two missed their targets independently.

In the second wave, the 30 boats accelerated to 50 knots.

Four AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters were deployed from the USS Pertain amphibious assault ship, engaging the majority of targets with AGM-114 Hellfire missiles.

One Paykan-class boat managed to penetrate the defensive perimeter and closed to 800 meters from the mine sweeper USS Dextrous.

The boat’s heavy machine gunner opened fire, wounding two sailors with splinters—the only American casualties of the entire operation.

The Dextrous, lacking heavy armament, responded with its sole defensive weapon, the M2 Browning .50 caliber machine gun.