US F/A-18 disables tankers by dropping precision munitions into smokestacks

CENTCOM describes a new interdiction technique: an F/A-18 Super Hornet disabling blockade-running tankers by placing precision munitions down the ships’ smokestacks to stop propulsion without sinking the vessel. This is a notable escalation in precision “disable-not-destroy” maritime enforcement, distinct from prior reported uses of inert 5-inch rounds or 20mm cannon to damage specific ship components.