The U.S. Air Force Has A Small Spy Ship In The Persian Gulf

USNS Invincible (T-AGM 24) transits the Strait of Hormuz, escorted by USS Jason Dunham (DDG 109) in the @US5thFleet

National Interest: The U.S. Air Force Has a Spy Ship in the Persian Gulf

The U.S. Air Force quietly keeps a small, inconspicuous spy ship in the Persian Gulf, presumably in order to keep an eye on Iran’s missile launches.

Technically speaking, USNS Invincible—a 224-foot vessel displacing a mere 2,800 tons—belongs to Military Sealift Command, the quasi-civilian branch of the Navy that operates America’s military logistics ship and other specialist vessels.

But Invincible is just a hull—unremarkable, painted white and maintained by 18 civilian contractors. It’s what’s inside and atop the hull that really matters. A sophisticated, dual X- and S-band radar called Gray Star that belongs to the Air Force.

No one says much about Invincible or Gray Star. Military Sealift Command refers to the vessel as a “missile range instrumentation ship” whose job it is to “monitor missile launches and collect data.”

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Update: The US Military Logistics Ship that Carries a Secret (Sputnik)

WNU Editor: I am sure there is more than one U.S. "spy platform" circling Iran.