Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Dr.Sid
On the other hand .. fishing boats are there to catch fish, right ?  |
Not necessarily. Sometimes I like to scatter a few around to act as spotters for shore based ASCM. The range of the missiles is longer than their radar's range, so to make full use of their range, you need to have some sort of reconnaissance platform. Fishing boats, trawlers and freighters are good platforms for this.
The Soviets had their spy trawlers.
Middle eastern countries use dhows for gathering intelligence.
Using "civilian" vessles to scout out the enemy is a common tactic globally.