Can anyone give me a good example of Littoral Warfare besides the attack on USS Cole in 2000?
Technically, Littoral warfare is warfare that is conducted in shallow water near shore (or brown water). So, the landing at Normandy beach on D-day, the river boats of Vietnam, Navy SEAL insertion, each beach attack during the island hopping campaign of the south Pacific can all be considered littoral warfare. More or less, the Navy has always done it. It is just that they recently coined the new name. Before it was just called amphibious, riverine, or brown water. Good examples of it going on today are the pirates of the Straits of Malacca and the Horn of Africa (Yes! pirates still exist!). If you want justification. Pirates cost hundreds of lives and millions of dollars in international commerce every year and they operate almost exclusively in littoral areas. Keeping sea lanes open is critical to the global economy and part of the U.S Navy’s mission. Not to mention the terrorist threat of small boats in restricted waterways.
