The evolution of firepower warrants deep reflection, Fleet Tactics and Naval Operations explains:
The development of the torpedo at the beginning of the twentieth century enabled an inferior force to defeat a superior one because the new weapons delivered a highly effective pulse of firepower that could be delivered from many small torpedo boats or from an undetected submarine. The effect of this on tactics in World War I was astonishing.
In World War II, aircraft became the means of delivering fatal “salvoes” because an air wing could reach out 200 nautical miles or more, and the effect on tactics was even more stunning.
In the modern missile age, this salvo threat has achieved new status. When the “pulsed power” is a missile salvo, a weaker side that is outnumbered by as much as two to one can win—if it employs better scouting and command-and-control that enable it to “attack effectively first.”
Iran’s small boats are an important part of its real navy (not the legacy navy the USA has already sunk). Apparently six Iranian boats were sunk by helicopter salvoes.
“U.S. Army AH-64 Apache and U.S. Navy MH-60 Seahawk helicopters destroyed six small Iranian boats that were threatening commercial ships in and around the Strait of Hormuz, according to the U.S. military’s top officer in the region.”
Iran’s small boats may suffer high casualties. However, shortly after the U.S. destroyed the six Iranian boats yesterday, May 4, 2026, Iran launched a retaliatory strike on the Port of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates: