Feature 5 | MINE COUNTERMEASURES
Dedicated ships in decline as
minehunting moves ‘off-ship’
Still in demand among many navies, dedicated mine countermeasures
vessels could soon be a thing of the past in the major navies as the US Navy
and European navies expend more funding and research and development
effort on developing offboard mine detection and neutralisation technology
deployed from surface combatants, helicopters, and UUVs.
I
n the short term, however, at least June of this year will see the latest
in the US Navy, a capability gap has ‘Frontier Sentinel’ exercise conducted,
arisen as existing MCM platforms are a joint US-Canadian maritime security
retired before new platforms deploying process that will include a harbour mine
the new – and as yet untested – mine scenario. Such is the concern about the
countermeasures technology is introduced issue that the Department of Homeland
into service. Security is seeking funding to conduct
The US Navy’s mine countermeasures detailed surveys of prominent ports in
programme may be in more serious order to provide detailed charts.
trouble than originally thought, as Naval The US Navy wants ships such as LCS The US Navy took delivery of the first
Spyglass reported recently. With the to operate without the assistance of LCS mine-warfare module last year, but it
decline in the minehunter force (the dedicated mine countermeasures vessels has no finished ships on which to install
Osprey class minehunters having all been using integral mission packages. and test the system, which uses unmanned
decommissioned by the end of fiscal underwater vehicles (UUVs) to detect and
year 2007), MH-60 Seahawk helicopters neutralise mines.
equipped with the AN/AQS-20 sonar, However, helicopters currently General Dynamics Advanced
and the AN/ASQ-235 airborne mine cannot operate the sonars and AMNS Information Systems and the US Navy
neutralisation system (AMNS) will have simultaneously, although there are plans recently integrated the mission package
to fill the gap pending deployment of the for joint use. computing environment aboard the
mine countermeasures modules in the With the LCS still some way off General Dynamics Littoral Combat Ship
Littoral Combat Ship (LCS). deployment there were plans to equip six (LCS) Independence, which is under
The US Navy plans for 80 AQS-20 sonars, Arleigh Burke (DDG 51) class destroyers construction at Mobile, Alabama. The
which are due to achieve initial operating with RMS, however, only USS Bainbridge mission package computing environment
capability this year, and they have also (DDG 96) has been equipped, and will (MPCE), designed using the General
been selected for the AN/WLD-1 remote shortly begin operational evaluation, but Dynamics open computing infrastructure
minehunting system (RMS). there are no plans for further deployments (OPEN CI), provides the primary operator
The US Navy plans to have 24 mine of RMS with the destroyers. interface for the control and monitoring of
countermeasures packages for the LCS, As Captain Bruce Nichols, head of the mission package operations. The MPCE
including two RMS each with an AQS- US Navy’s MIW branch, explained to the is located in the secondary integrated
20 and one for the MH-60. To support Defence IQ Ship Self Defence conference command and control room (ICC2).
the helicopters there are planned to be in London on 31 March, the US Navy Successful completion of this integration
30 AMNS which begin their technical believes it is ‘unnecessary’ for ships to paves the way for full integration of
evaluation this month and should be enter minefields. Experience in the Persian the mission packages with the General
operational in the summer of 2009. Gulf has led the US Navy to seek faster and Dynamics LCS Core Mission System,
Three have been ordered and a contract for safer means of neutralising mines through which is scheduled for later this year.
four is anticipated following the passing of stand-off operations. Mission packages are a key feature of
Milestone C in February with authorisation Closer to home, efforts continue to the LCS class of ships and are designed
of low initial rate production. In addition, address the potential threat posed by to fill capability gaps that have been
a contract for three systems worth terrorists sowing mines in US ports, a threat identified in the mine countermeasures
US$9.8 million was announced during the that will not be any easier to address with (MCM), surface warfare (SUW), and anti-
US Navy League’s Sea Air Space exposition the withdrawal of dedicated minehunters submarine warfare (ASW) areas in the
in mid-March. from front line service. littoral environment. The mission packages
Warship Technology May 2008 27
WT May 08 - p27+28+29.indd 27 25/04/2008 14:34:24
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