The media pay little attention to anti-ship missiles. The last decade has offered no opportunities for these weapons to demonstrate their capabilities. The foreign combat operations of the U.S. and allied militaries have involved no significant maritime combat engagements. Afghanistan is a landlocked country, and little was left of Saddam Hussein's navy by March 2003. The Iraqi Navy had little capability to challenge the U.S. and British naval armada arrayed against it. Operation Desert Storm and 13 years of sanctions crippled the Iraqi Navy. The Libyan Navy in 2011 posed little threat to NATO during Operation Unified Protector. Unless a war with Iran starts or the West intervenes in Syria, anti-ship missiles will not see action in the near future (at least in this region).
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