21ST CENTURY U.S.

NAVY MINE WARFARE

ENSURING GLOBAL ACCESS AND COMMERCE
21ST-CENTURY U.S. NAVY MINE WARFARE
Mine Countermeasures Vision
Sea mines and the need to counter them have been constants for the U.S.
s)MPROVEDETECTIONCAPABILITY
Navy since the earliest days of the Republic. Mines and mine countermeasures
s$ECREASESENSORFALSEALARMRATE
figured prominently in the Civil War, Spanish-American War, both World Wars,
s2EDUCEORELIMINATEPOST MISSION
Korea, numerous Cold War crises, and in Operations Desert Storm and Iraqi ANALYSISDETECTCLASSIFYIDENTIFY
Freedom. Today, traditional navies as well as maritime terrorists can and do use DECIDETIME
mines and Underwater Improvised Explosive Devices (UWIEDs) to challenge s!UTOMATICTARGETRECOGNITION
military and commercial use of the seas. These weapons that wait are the quintes- s)MPROVENEUTRALIZATIONTIME
sential global asymmetric threat, pitting our adversaries strengths against what they s)MPROVENETWORKCOMMUNICATIONS
perceive as our naval and maritime weaknesses. s!CHIEVEIN STRIDEDETECT TO
ENGAGECAPABILITY
In February 1991 the Navy lost command of the seathe North Arabian Gulf
to more than a thousand mines that had been sown by Iraqi forces. Mines se-
verely damaged two Navy warships, and commanders aborted an amphibious
assault for fear of even more casualties. Spurred on by this experience, the Navy has
21st-Century U.S. Navy Mine Warfare 1
taken consistent, aggressive and focused action to ensure that it is prepared for all fu-
Whats Past is Prologue 3
ture mine events.
The Threat is Real 7
The Navy has crafted an overarching vision for mine warfare, generally, to support
Defeating Weapons that Wait 11
national strategies and operational plans, while focusing on mine countermeasures in
Mines and Mining 25
order to decrease significantly the time it takes to conduct mine countermeasures op-
Organizing for Mine Warfare 26
erations and to ensure that the residual risk is low.
Mine Warfare Vision 27
Our focus, however, is not solely on away gamesoverseas crises, contin-
Mine Warfare Reading List 29
gencies, and conflicts. We are increasingly concerned about the possibility of

1
 terrorists using mines or underwater improvised explosive devices in domestic U.S. ports and waterways. Traditional naval forces and
terrorists can use these weapons for military effects and psychological terrorwith the potential for significant harm to the global
economywhat the Secretary of Defense has described as hybrid wars. Thus, mine countermeasures is key to national military and
maritime security strategies and worldwide commerce.

To defeat the mine threat, the Navy has established the Mine Warfare Center of Excellence at the Naval Mine and Anti-submarine Warfare
Command. The Service is co-locating the Mine Warfare Forces to enhance training and readiness, and has forward deployed mine counter-
measures staffs, ships, helicopters, and explosive ordnance disposal detachments to guarantee quick responses to mine crises world wide. An
officer Mine Warfare career path and the Mineman rating for enlisted mine warfare experts ensure critical skills in the operating forces. And,
the Navy is developing and deploying advanced mine-hunting and minesweeping systems and the intelligence and oceanographic capabilities
that will enable our mine warfare superiority.

Our vision is focused and clear. Our people are skilled and experienced. Our research and development, acquisition and in-service programs
are forward-leaning and promise enhanced effectiveness. We will ensure success in this most challenging naval warfare area.

Major General Thomas A. Benes, USMC E. Anne Sandel

Director, Expeditionary Warfare N85 Program Executive Officer
Office of the Chief of Naval Operations Littoral and Mine Warfare

2
 MINE WARFARE PIONEER
Connecticut farm boys Da-
vid Bushnell and his brother
WHATS PAST IS PROLOGUE worked in secrecy to design
and build something they
Mine warfare is the strategic, operational and tactical use of sea mines and called a sub-marine. Dubbed
the countermeasures to defeat them. Although the concept of a sea mine can the American Turtle because
be traced to Greek Fire used to defend Constantinople in the year 673, in the it resembled two turtle shells
American experience the first use of mines or torpedoes came in an unsuccess- joined together, the submers-
ible was armed with a torpe-
ful 1776 attack against HMS Eagle in the Hudson River. The first successful U.S.
do limpet mine to be screwed
Navy mining occurred during the War of 1812, when mines denied British access into the hull of its intended victim. Piloted by a soldier
to the Port of New York. named Ezra Lee, the Turtles 6 September 1776 attack
against Lord Howes flagship was frustrated by bad luck
During the Civil War, sea mines and the passive protection of the Eagles iron fittings.
Torpedoes [mines] are not so agreeable
became the Souths strategic sea- Retiring at dawn, Lee released the mine to float toward
when used by both sides; therefore, I have
denial weapon of choice. This the British warships, and, when it fired, the large plume
reluctantly brought myself to it. I have al-
catalyzed the Union Navy to of water panicked the ships crews.
ways deemed it unworthy of a chivalrous
develop mine countermeasures nation, but it does not do to give your enemy In January 1778, Bushnell used floating kegs of gun-
systems and tacticsincluding such a decided superiority over you. powder fitted with contact firing mechanisms to at-
some that still have 21st-Centu- tack the entire British fleet anchored in the Delaware
Rear Admiral David G. Farragut, USN
ry applications. Almost all, how- River above Philadelphia. Four British sailors died try-
March 1864
ever, were ad hoc innovations ing to retrieve the kegsan early example of explosive
created at the shipboard level by ordnance disposal against an unknown threatbut
the fleet was unscathed.
individual commanders, as no infrastructure within the Union Navy focused on
mines and mine countermeasures. In contrast, the Confederate Navy had a mine Bushnell was more effective the previous summer
infrastructure that was heavily engaged in research and development, and even of 1777, however. He rigged a double line of torpe-
included a sapper corps and a spy network to increase the effectiveness of the does to attack the British warship Cerberus. The Brit-
Souths mines. Still, Admiral David G. Farraguts command at Mobile Bay to ... ish prize crew of a captured American schooner saw
the mines and attempted to haul them on board,
damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead was made easy by two months of ex-
causing them to fire, killing most of the crew and
tensive mine countermeasures that included reconnaissance, mine hunting, and sinking the schoonercertainly the origin of the
technical exploitation of captured weapons. He understood the threat and took his phrase, any ship can be a minesweeper, once.
force through an area that was mine free. By wars end, however, 48 Union ships Cerberus was unharmed.
had been severely damaged or sunk by Confederate mines; ironically, the Souths
At wars end, General George Washington called Bush-
mines also sank 11 Confederate ships. nell a man of great mechanical powers and fertile in
imagination.
3
 The U.S. Navy confronted mines at Manila Bay and Santiago during the Spanish-American War. And, the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905
saw the first significant use of mines in a blue-water naval campaign. The Russians employed mines in defensive postures, while the Japa-
nese focused on offensive mining in deep water. In all, mines claimed three battleships, five cruisers, four destroyers, two torpedo boats, and
one minelayer (sunk by a mine it had just planted). Russia sank more ships by mines than by any other means of attack.

Many thousands of mines served tactical sea-denial and strategic ends in both World Wars. Russia, Germany, Turkey, Great Britain and the
United States relied on sea mines throughout the Great War. The mining campaigns culminated in the North Sea Mine Barrage of June-
October 1918, when British and U.S. ships laid more than 73,000 mines, which sank as many as 13 U-Boats and kept many more in home
ports until Armistice Day.

Mines of all typesincluding advanced magnetic, acoustic and pressure influence mines and electrical-potential/antenna-fired weapons
were used successfully in all World War II theaters. Even the U.S. homeland was at risk, as U-boats laid 327 mines from Halifax, Nova Scotia,
to the Mississippi Delta, closing several ports for a total of 40 days and sinking or damaging 11 ships. Toward the end of the war in the Pacific,
the U.S. Operation Starvation showed the strategic value of mines. From March to August 1945, U.S. Army aircraft and Navy surface warships
and submarines laid more than 25,000 mines in Japanese shipping routes and territorial waters. The results were unequivocal: mines sank
some 760 Japanese ships, damaged many more, and strangled all maritime commerce into and around the home islands.

Throughout this history, mine countermeasures attempted to keep pace with the development of new sea mines and the adaption of counter-
countermeasures on existing mines. For example, the Navy developed degaussing of major ships, paravanes, a variety of mechanical/mag-
netic/acoustic sweeps, and dedicated mine countermeasures vesselseven blimpsduring the wars.

Mine hunting and clearance operations are dangerous and time consuming, even after hostilities have ceased. By October 1945, U.S. Navy
mine countermeasures forces in all theaters had swept more than 10,200 contact mines, but rendered-safe less than 500 influence mines. It
took hundreds of mine countermeasures vesselsmostly Japaneseworking for several years to clear U.S. sea mines in essential waters
only, and in 1971 the Navy estimated that more than 2,000 sensitive influence mines remained in Pacific waters. Today, mine countermeasures
vessels participating in the NATO Blue Harrier Exercises in the Kattegat and North Sea find and destroy World War I and II-era mines.

The Korean conflict underscored a failure of U.S. mine countermeasures. At the end of World War II, the U.S. Navy had more than 500 mine-
clearance ships, but by the summer 1950 that number had atrophied to just 15. While the surprise amphibious landing at Inchon on the west
coast of Korea went well, more than 3,000 mines utterly frustrated the October 1950 assault on Wonsan on the east coast. A 250-ship United
Nations amphibious task force could not carry out the plan, causing task force commander Rear Admiral Allen E. Hoke Smith to lament,
We have lost control of the seas to a nation without a navy, using pre-World War I weapons, laid by vessels that were utilized at the time

4
of the birth of Christ. The initial clearance operations saw three mine countermeasures
vessels sunk by mines, with more than 100 dead and wounded. By the end of hostilities in when you cant go where you want to,
July 1953, mine countermeasures forces, which accounted for just two percent of all UN when you want to, you havent got com-
naval forces, had suffered 20 percent of naval casualties. mand of the sea. And command of the sea
is a rock-bottom foundation for all our war
Although the Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Forrest Sherman in early 1950 had plans. Weve been plenty submarine-con-
put in place a mine warfare get-well program, the Korean debacle further stimulated a scious and air-conscious. Now, were going
wide-ranging renaissance in U.S. Navy mine warfare research and development, experi- to start getting mine-consciousbeginning
mentation, and acquisition. The Navy supported numerous surface and, for the first time, last week!
helicopter mine countermeasures platforms, systems, and technologies during the 1950s Admiral Forrest P. Sherman, USN
and 1960s. U.S. shipyards delivered nearly 250 surface mine countermeasures vessels for Chief of Naval Operations
U.S. and allied navies. Advanced multiple-influence mines also emerged from the Navys October 1950
research and development community, focused on defeating a resurgent Soviet Navy in-
tent on challenging the United States and its allies worldwide.

Vietnam was significant for both mining and mine countermeasures. U.S. aircraft dropped some 11,000 Destructor mines converted from
general-purpose bombs in coastal waters, rivers, and even along jungle trails. In May 1972 the Navy mined Haiphong harbor with Destruc-
tor and magnetic-acoustic influence mines in a strategic campaign to bring the North Vietnamese back to the Paris Peace Talks. Thousands
more mines were seeded and re-seeded, stopping virtually all water-borne trade
with North Vietnam and trapping several Soviet Bloc ships in North Vietnam-
ese ports. As part of the Paris Peace Accords, the United States agreed to clear
the mines in a seven-month effortTask Force 74 Operation End Sweepthat
saw the first use of dedicated airborne mine countermeasures helicopters to
sweep mined areas.

During the 1980s Tanker War in the Arabian Gulf, the guided-missile frigate
USS Samuel B. Roberts almost sank, with potentially great loss of life, after strik-
ing an Iranian contact mine (that was based on a 1908 Russian design) on 14
April 1987only the most heroic efforts by the crew kept the frigate afloat.
Estimated to cost about $1,500, the mine caused some $96 million in damage
to the warship.

5
 Desert Storm saw another mine countermeasures failure. As
the U.S.-led Desert Shield coalition built up combat strength I believe there are some fundamentals about mine warfare that
in the fall and winter 1990-1991, the Iraqis were laying more we should not forget. Once mines are laid, they are quite difficult to
than 1,300 sea mines in the Northern Arabian Gulfa dead- get rid of. That is not likely to change. It is probably going to get worse,
ly mix of World War II-era weapons and modern multi- because mines are going to become more sophisticated.
ple-influence mines, including a design never seen before Admiral Frank B. Kelso, II USN
in the West. As the Air War raged overhead, the USS Tripoli Chief of Naval Operations
(LPH-10), the mine countermeasures commanders flag- October 1991
ship, and USS Princeton (CG-59), an Aegis guided-missile
cruiser assigned as the mine countermeasures force anti-air
warfare guard ship, were seriously damaged by sea mines.
Almost immediately, U.S. commanders shelved plans for an
amphibious assault intended to retake Kuwait City, leaving
some 30,000 Marines at sea in their ships. Intensive Des-
ert Sweep operations began immediately after hostilities
ceased, but it took several years of mine-clearing efforts by
coalition forces using captured mine field plans to conclude
that principal channels were safe for ship traffic. Today, the
Navy maintains a robust mine countermeasures posture
forward deployed to the Arabian Gulf to respond to mine-
clearance needs.

The 1991 Gulf War was also the last time that the Navy de-
ployed mines in combat. Four A-6 Intruder bombers planted
a tactical minefield of Quickstrike bomb-conversion mines
at the mouth of the Kwahr Az Zubayr River, to deny Iraqi access to the northern Gulf, and one aircraft was lost to ground fire. The Navy also
used the Quickstrike mines against bridges and airport runways, with good effect.

Contrasting the Navys experiences at Wonsan in 1950 and the 1991 Gulf War are the highly successful countermeasures efforts in support of
Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003. U.S. intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance assets were keyed to the likelihood that Baghdad would

6
again try to seed the northern Gulf with mines. Although the Iraqi military managed to plant
a few mines, Navy SEAL teams and special operations forces captured several disguised Iraqi
mine layers (in reality barges and tugs) with more than 100 mines still on board. Australian,
U.K. and U.S. Explosive Ordnance Disposal divers successfully cleared the mines that did get
into the Khor Abd Allah waterway, just in time for much-needed humanitarian-response ships
to begin offloading vital supplies at the strategic port of Umm Qasr.

For more than 230 years, sea mines have figured in Americas naval and maritime strategies,
plans, programs, and operations. There is no indication that it will be any different, tomorrow.
Indeed, as far as we can peer into the future, traditional navies and terrorists intent on doing the
United States and its friends harm will embrace these ultimate asymmetric naval weapons.

THE THREAT IS REAL

A mine is a terrible thing that waits. More than a quarter-million sea mines of more than
300 types are in the inventories of more than 50 navies world wide, not counting U.S. Assured access is a linchpin of both our na-
weapons. More than 30 countries produce and more than 20 countries export mines. val and national security strategies. Our first
Even highly sophisticated weapons are available in the international arms trade. Worse, priority must be improving our near-term
these figures are for sea mines, proper; they do not include underwater improvised ex- capabilities, but it is also important to keep
plosive devices, which can be fashioned from fuel bladders, 50-gallon drums, and even an eye on our long-term vision of mine war-
discarded refrigerators. fare. Given the growing threat to our fleet
and the current state of technology, we are
Mines and underwater IEDs are easy to acquire or build and are cheap, but their low fools if we dont.
cost belies their potential for harm. Since the end of World War II, for example, mines Admiral Robert J. Natter, USN
have seriously damaged or sunk four times more U.S. Navy ships than all other means Commander, U.S. Atlantic Fleet
of attack combined: January 2003
s-INESSHIPS
s-ISSILESSHIP
s4ORPEDOESAIRCRAFTSHIPS
s3MALL BOATTERRORISTATTACKSHIP

7
 U.S. Navy Mine Casualties
Since the end of World War II, mines have damaged or sunk four times more U.S. Navy ships than all other means of attack.

Although mines or underwater IEDs can be constructed in virtually any configuration, there are essentially four primary types: (1) bottom
or ground mines; (2) buoyant moored mines; (3) drifting mines; and (4) limpet mines. They can be put in place by aircraft, surface ships,
pleasure boats, submarines, and combat diverseven from pickup trucks crossing bridges over critical waterways. They are designed for
operations from the surf zone (less than ten-foot water depth) to deep water (greater than 200 feet), and their payloads can range from a few
pounds to several tons of high explosive.

Bottom mines resting on the sea floordescribed as proudare held in place by their own weight, but can also be buried under sediments
to confound mine hunting. They range from 36-inch cone-shaped mines to mines that are 12 feet in length. Bottom mines that are intended
to target surface ships are most effective in relatively shallow water, less than 200 feet. Deeper water limits the amount of damage that a bot-
tom mine can inflict on a surface ship because of the mines distance from the target. Bottom mines remain effective against submarines in
deep water.

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 Mine Warfare Regions
Surf Zone & CLZ Very Shallow Water Shallow Water Deep Water
0 - 10 10 - 40 40 - 200 Over 200

Obstacles
Anti-Invasion
Bottom
Moored
Floating
Rising

Moored Mines are assembled in buoyant cases and held in place by anchors.
There are three types of moored mines: close-tethered mines near the sea floor,
in-volume mines, and near-surface mines. Moored mines require a large in-
ternal air space to allow the mine case to become buoyant, which limits the
amount of explosives that they can contain. As a result, the damage radius of a
moored mine is generally less than that of a bottom mine. Some moored mines,
however, are armed with torpedoes or rockets that greatly increase the weapons
reach against submerged and surface targets.

Floating mines are positively buoyant and float on or near the surface, but gen-
erally remain anchored in place. Drifting mines can be positively or neutrally
buoyant and are carried by currents and tides. The dangerous oscillating mines

9
 drift beneath the surface and are designed to rise and fall between two set depths. International law requires that automatic minesmines
that fire themselvesmust become inert within an hour after they have been become free of their anchors. Clearly, drifting mines are not
designed to become inert and are thus prohibited by treaty...but they continue to be used.

Finally, divers can attachlimpet mines directly to the hull of an intended ship target, and they can be set to explode minutes or days or longer
after being put in place. For example, in July 1985 two timed-delay limpet mines sank the Greenpeace Rainbow Warrior in the Auckland, New
Zealand harbor.

Some mines are mobile, capable of being launched from submarines thousands of yards from intended minefields. Old mines can be refitted
with modern, highly sophisticated components, and any mine can be equipped with counter-countermeasure featurese.g., ship counts
to frustrate sweeping, hunting, and neutralization. They can be fabricated from fiberglass and plastic, making them extremely difficult to de-
tect, identify, or counter once in the water. And, they can be designed to fire in several ways: by contact, sensing the signatures or influences
of a surface ship or submarine, and detonated on command.

Contact mines are either moored or surface/drifting mines that are designed to actuate when the mine cases or attachments come into con-
tact with a target. These are the oldest type of mine still in use. Most contact mines use a chemical horn that becomes a battery to actuate
the detonator when the chemical vial in the horn is broken.

Influence mines can be bottom or moored weapons and have sophisticated sensors and firing mechanisms that do not require the target to
make contact with the mine before the mine explodes. They are fitted with just one or combinations of several magnetic, acoustic, seismic,
underwater electrical potential, and pressure sensors. Modern sensors use microcomputers that can sense a targets approach, determine
whether the sensed signature is a ship or a sweep, and estimate the optimum time to detonate as the target passes by.

Command-detonated mines are moored or bottom weapons that are fired on order by the miner when the target ship enters the minefield.
Command-detonated minefields are generallybut not alwayslimited to defensive operations in harbors or restricted waterways.

In the domestic context, mines and underwater improvised explosive devices are among many threats to U.S. maritime security interests.
Terrorists can use or threaten to use mines and UWIEDs for a variety of political, economic, or military ends, often with psychological effects
foremost in mind. While small devices might have no more than nuisance value, larger mines can be placed surreptitiously in channels and
harbors to achieve spectacular effectsagainst, for example, ferries or cruise ships with several thousand people on board. And a coordinated
mine or UWIED attack in multiple locations can have a debilitating, if not disastrous, economic impact.

10
 MINES AND IEDS FOR TERROR
The Patriotic Scuba Diver mine crisis of January 1980
showed that a terrorist threat of minesin this case
Mines can directly attack the nations waterborne trade. More than 90 percent of the purported mining of the Sacramento River dur-
American exports and imports by volume transit U.S. ports, and the efficient and ing the Soviet grain embargo announced by the Pres-
safe movement of foreign, coastal, and inland waters commerce is vital for Amer- identcould have chilling effects on maritime trade.
icas economy. The economic consequences of just a few mines in commercial An unknown person identifying himself as the patri-
ports or strategic waterways like the St. Lawrence Seaway could be catastrophic, otic scuba diver claimed by telephone to have placed a
and the economic tremors could reverberate to trading partners overseas. mine in the waterway; all shipping movements ceased.
Once on scene, the Navy minesweeper required several
There could be serious military impacts, as well. While mines might not be show- days of intensive mine hunting to conclude the chan-
stoppers, they could certainly be speed bumps in critical waterways, slowing nel was safe. No mines were discovered, but the cost in
merchant vessel lay-days alone was estimated in the
the movement of warships and military sealift in crisis and conflict.
hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Arrayed against this global threat, the Navy has put in place the people, plat- The Red Sea/Gulf of Suez Mines of August crisis in
forms, systems, and technologies needed by Combatant Commanders to defeat the summer 1984 demonstrated how easily mines could
mine warfare challenges. The operational requirements as well as the capacity be used as weapons of maritime terror. From 19 July to
and capabilities needed for the domestic counter-terrorism mine-countermea- 13 September as many as 23 vessels reported damage
sures mission continue to be addressed. Whether at home or abroad, however, from underwater explosions in the Red Sea and Gulf of
Suezattacks that generated a massive multinational
the Navys mine countermeasures capabilities are focused on significantly de-
mine-countermeasures response, including U.S. Navy
creasing the time it takes to conduct operations and to ensure that any residual airborne mine countermeasures helicopters. Only one
risk remains small. new mine was recovered and rendered safe by Royal
Navy diversa 1,700-pound, multiple-influence, Sovi-
et bottom mine completely unknown in the West. Later
DEFEATING WEAPONS THAT WAIT it was proven that Libyan naval personnel aboard the
commercial ferry Ghat had rolled off the mines as the
The Navys triad of dedicated mine countermeasures forces comprises surface
vessel meandered throughout the waterway, completely
mine countermeasure ships, airborne mine countermeasures helicopters, and unchallenged, for more than two weeks.
Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) divers and their systems. Complemented by
the Services Marine Mammal Systems, Navy Special Warfare SEALs, and Marine On 21 April 2004 a tugboat operator on Lake Ponchar-
train, Louisiana, spotted a suspicious floating bag and
Force Recon divers, each element of the dedicated mine countermeasures force
called the U.S. Coast Guard. The Coast Guard contacted
brings a unique set of capabilities to the mine-defense problem. These dedicated the Jefferson Parish bomb squad, which fished the bag
forces are now being augmented by the expansion of the Services organic mine out of the water. It proved to be a water-borne IED
countermeasures capabilities that will be embarked in Littoral Combat Ships and a couple of pounds of explosive in plastic pipes with a
integrated into aircraft carrier and expeditionary strike groups. timer, wrapped in trash bags to keep it afloat just under
the surface.

11
 MISSIONS AND TASKS
U.S. Navy mine countermeasures missions are driven by the need to establish a naval
and maritime sea shield that enables the six core capabilities of U.S. Maritime Forces
articulated in the tri-service Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Seapower:
s&ORWARD0RESENCE
s$ETERRENCE
s3EA#ONTROL
s0OWER0ROJECTION
s-ARITIME3ECURITY
s(UMANITARIAN!SSISTANCEAND$ISASTER2ESPONSE

Mine countermeasures capabilities are important contributors to the unfettered operations of the Navys warships and support vessels, as well
as commercial shipping movements. Counter-mine operations can take place in U.S. and overseas ports and waterways, along the sea lines of
communication, and in fleet operations areas: aircraft carrier strike group operations areas, expeditionary strike group operations areas, and
littoral penetration areas. This last presents the most challenging requirements, as mine-hunting and sweeping tasks in support of ship-to-
objective maneuver missions must be carried out in shallow water, surf and landing zone areas, often in very tight time-critical schedules.

Indeed, the Navys Sea Power 21 strategic vision, Cooperative Strategy, and global concept of operations anticipate increased presence of naval
and maritime power in the littorals, where the most mine threats will be encountered. The Services Sea Shield mine countermeasures capa-
bilities must be able to:
s!SSUREFREEDOMOFOPERATIONSFORJOINTFORCESTHROUGHOUTTHEMARITIMEOPERATIONALENVIRONMENT
s0ROJECTADEFENSEAROUNDJOINTALLIEDANDCOALITIONFORCES
s0ROVIDEASEA BASEDLAYEROFHOMELANDDEFENSEANDSECURITY

The last is of increasing importance. The U.S. National Strategy for Maritime Security, National Strategy for Homeland Security, and National
Infrastructure Protection Plan, among other presidential directives and plans, outline the need to protect vulnerable U.S. maritime assets. For
example, The Maritime Operational Threat Response (MOTR) plan and its outline of supported and supporting relationships are particu-
larly important for defending against mines and underwater improvised explosive devices in domestic waterways. The plan includes mines in
its catalog of threats to U.S. maritime security and identifies the Department of Defense as the lead MOTR agency for tactical response and

12
resolution of nation-state threats within the maritime domain, as well as for maritime terrorist
threats that occur in the forward maritime areas of responsibility. What keeps me up at night? The
threat of water-borne IEDs.
Thus, the Navys Mine Force routinely carries out mine countermeasures operations from the
Admiral Thad Allen, USCG
high-water mark on shore to water depths greater than 200 feet. Countermeasures operations can
Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard
be carried out in a crowded port, in narrow assault breaching lanes, and in fleet operating areas August 2007
totaling many thousands of square nautical miles. The combination of mine countermeasures
operations areas and the diversity of mine types and characteristics greatly complicate the mine-
defense problem. Tactics and techniques that apply to one water regime or one size area and its associated mine threat do not always apply
to others. No other naval warfare area presents such a diversity of environments and threats, and several critical questions must be answered
to ensure effective mine countermeasures operations:
s7HATINTELLIGENCEDOWEHAVEABOUTTHEWEAPONSANDMINELAYERS
s7HEREMIGHTTHEYBEDEPLOYED
s7HATARETHELOCALOCEANOGRAPHICBOTTOMANDENVIRONMENTALCHARACTERISTICS
s7HATISALREADYONTHEBOTTOM
s(OWDOWEKNOWWHENSOMETHINGNEWISTHERE
s7HAT PORT OR WATERWAY INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS TO BE PROTECTED FROM MINES AND 57)%$S AS WELL AS FROM THE COUNTERMEASURES
OPERATIONSTHEMSELVES

With these concerns in mind, mine countermeasures operations can be broken into two major categories of tasks: mine hunting and
minesweeping.

HUNT IF YOU CAN...SWEEP IF YOU MUST

Mine hunting provides a relatively high degree of certainty that an area of concern is mine-free or the risk of a mine strike has been mini-
mized. It comprises five steps: detection, classification, localization, identification, and neutralization. Sonars are the primary means to detect
and classify mine-like contacts. Identifying each contact as a mine or a NOMBO (Non-Mine/Mine-Like Bottom Object) can also be carried
out by EOD divers and the Navys marine mammal systems, video cameras on mine neutralization vehicles, and laser systems. In this regard,
advanced sonars on unmanned underwater vehicles offer good promise to enhance mine-hunting capabilities.

13
 A contact that is classified as mine-like must be identified as a mine or NOMBO and, if a mine, rendered safe before the Navy mine coun-
termeasures commander, or the Coast Guard in a domestic mine crisis, can declare a route or area cleared. (As the Lead Federal Agency for
maritime homeland security, the Coast Guards Captains of the Port are the only officials who can close and open U.S. ports in response to
an emergency.) Depending on the accuracy of the location of the contact, the characteristics of the bottom (e.g., smooth or rough), sediment
type, amount of clutter, and the depth of the water, among other factors, the process of reacquisition and identification of each mine-like
contact can take several hours. EOD divers, marine mammals, and mine-neutralization systems are the Navys primary means for neutral-
izing sea mines and underwater IEDs.

The two types of minesweeping are mechanical and influence systems. Mechanical sweeping consists of cutting the tether of mines moored
in the water volume or other means of physically damaging the mine, such as chain drags to cut control wires. Moored mines cut loose by
mechanical sweeping must then be neutralized or rendered safe for subsequent analysis. Influence minesweeping consists of simulating the
magnetic, electric, acoustic, seismic, or pressure signatures of a ship so that the mine fires.

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DOMMINECOUNTERMEASURESOPERATIONSWEREANUNQUALIlEDSUCCESS CLEARED THE MINES THAT )RAQI
FORCES DID MANAGE TO PUT IN
4HE.AVYSFOURFORWARD BASEDMINESWEEPERSINTHE!RABIAN'ULF
PLACE 4HIS ALLOWED VESSELS TO
AUGMENTEDBYCONTINENTAL53 BASEDMINECOUNTERMEASURESASSETS
DELIVER MUCH NEEDED HUMANI
AND%/$EXPERTSASWELLAS!USTRALIANAND"RITISHFORCESWEREKEY
TARIAN AID THROUGH THE PORT OF
TOCLEARINGMINESINTHEKhor Abd Allah WATERWAY4HECONTINUOUS
Umm QasrANDALSOCLEAREDTHE
PRESENCE OF 53 NAVAL FORCES IN THE 'ULF SINCE  AND GOOD IN
WAY FOR STRATEGIC SEALIFT SHIPS
TELLIGENCE PRIOR TO THE OUTBREAK OF HOSTILITIES PREVENTED )RAQ FROM
TO OFmOAD CRITICAL EQUIPMENT
SOWINGMANYMINES
AND MATERIEL FOR FORCES ASHORE
3PECIAL/PERATIONS&ORCESAND.AVAL3PECIAL7ARFARETEAMSCAPTURED 4HE %/$ TEAM THEN TURNED ITS
SEVERAL DISGUISED )RAQI MINELAYERS WITH MORE THAN  MINES ATTENTIONTOTHEAz BayerPORT
INCLUDING )RAQI COPIES OF THE )TALIAN -ANTA MINE THAT SERIOUSLY CLEARANCEOPERATIONIN!PRIL

14
Intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance of an adversarys mining objectives and tactics are extremely important when influence sweep-
ing, as is specific intelligence on the operation of a mines sensors, firing criteria, and any counter-countermeasures (e.g. ship counters and
delay arming). Minesweeping is more risky to the sweeping platform than mine hunting and, when completed, generally leaves behind a
higher residual risk to vessels that transit the swept area. To ensure as low a risk as possible, then, most mine countermeasures operational
plans include both mine hunting and minesweeping.

DEDICATED MINE COUNTERMEASURES CAPABILITIES

In mid-2009, 14 Avenger (MCM-1)-class ships comprise the Navys dedicated surface mine countermeasures capabilities. Four are forward
deployed to the Arabian Gulf; two are home-ported in Japan; and the remaining eight are moving from their 2009 homeport in Ingleside,
Texas to the new Mine Warfare Center of Excellence in San Diego, California by 2010. Soon thereafter, two additional ships will forward de-
ploy to Japan. The Avenger-class ships are fitted with several systems to carry out mine countermeasures operations:

3URFACEMINECOUNTERMEASUREFORCESINTHE'ULFCOMPRISEDTHEFOUR UNDERWATER VEHICLE DETACHMENTOPERATED FROM THE 533Gunston

53 MINESWEEPERS STATIONED IN "AHRAINTHE 533Ardent -#- Hall ,3$  BEFORE RELOCATING ASHORE IN Umm Qasr 4HE TEAMS
 Cardinal-(#  Dextrous-#-  ANDRaven-(# 2%-53UNMANNEDUNDERWATERVEHICLEANDSIDESCANSONARSPROVED
 AND SIX 2OYAL .AVY MINESWEEPERS(-3 Blyth -   INVALUABLEFORTHETASKATHAND
Bangor -   Brocklesby -   Grimsby -   Ledbury
)TWASAMOSTDIFlCULTENVIRONMENTSHALLOWWATERLITTEREDWITHDE
-   AND Sandown -  AND THEIR MOTHERSHIP THE 2OYAL
BRIS POOR ACOUSTIC CONDITIONS BECAUSE OF A MUDDY BOTTOM NEAR
&LEET !UXILIARY ,ANDING 3HIP ,OGISTIC Sir Bedivere ,   $ATA
BOTTOMVISIBILITYATBESTLIMITEDANDMOSTTIMESNON EXISTENTAND
FROM THE 53 .AVY -( % 3EA $RAGON AIRBORNE MINE COUNTER
STRONGCURRENTS4HISMADEDIVINGOPERATIONSANDMINENEUTRALIZA
MEASURES HELICOPTERS SIDESCAN SONAR SURVEYS ENABLED COALITION
TION VEHICLE OPERATIONS ARDUOUS AND SLOW (OWEVER ONCE A MINE
SHIPSTOWORKTHEIRWAYSLOWLYUPTHEWATERWAYINVESTIGATINGEACH
LIKEOBJECTWASDETECTEDBYTHEHELICOPTERSMINE HUNTINGSONARSAND
CONTACTULTIMATELYSEARCHINGANDCLEARINGSOMESQUAREMILESOF
LOCATEDPRECISELYANDCLASSIlEDBYTHESHIPSSONARSREMOTELYOPER
WATERWAY!FTER53-ARINESAND2OYAL-ARINESSECUREDTHEPORTOF
ATEDVEHICLES%/$DIVERSORTHEMARINEMAMMALSINVESTIGATEDAND
Umm QasrCOALITION%/$PERSONNELSTARTEDCLEARINGTHEPORTFROM
THELANDWARDSIDE NEUTRALIZEDTHOSECONTACTS!PPROXIMATELYUNDERWATERCONTACTS
WEREINVESTIGATEDANDABOUTWERECLASSIlEDASMINESORMINE LIKE
.AVY 3PECIAL #LEARANCE 4EAM /.%COMPRISING .AVY 3%!,3 ANDDESTROYEDENSURINGTHATCRITICALHUMANITARIANAIDANDMILITARY
-ARINE#ORPS&ORCE2ECONNAISSANCEDIVERS%/$DIVERS-KAND MATERIALWEREDELIVEREDINTIME
-KMARINEMAMMALSANDTHE.AVYSlRSTOPERATIONALUNMANNED

15
 s4HE SQQ-32 variable-depth mine detection and classification sonar displays search and classification information simultaneously, using
separate search and classification transducers in a stable, variable-depth body deployed from the ship. The sonar can detect and classify
moored, close-tethered, and proud bottom mines.
s4HESLQ-37 Magnetic/Acoustic Influence Minesweeping System consists of an M Mk 5A straight-tail magnetic sweep combined with a
TB 27/A Mk 4V or TB 26/A Mk 6B acoustic sweeping device to counter magnetic and acoustic influence mines.
s4HESLQ-38 Mechanical/Orepesa (cable-cutting) Sweep is designed to cut the mooring cable of buoyant mines that are near the surface.
The SLQ-38 uses a rugged wire and cable cutters, and can be rigged on either side or both sides of the minesweeper.
s4HE SLQ-48(V) Mine Neutralization System (MNS) is an unmanned sub-
mersible that can neutralize bottom and moored mines. After a target is de-
tected by the ships SQQ-32 sonar, the MNS is put in the water and swims to
reacquire the target, guided by the submersibles high-definition sonar. Once
the contact is reacquired, a low-light-level television helps to examine, clas-
sify, and identify the contact. If determined to be a bottom mine, the MNS
can place an explosive charge next to the mine, the MNS is retrieved, and the
explosive charge destroys the mine. If the target is a moored mine, the MNS
can attach a charge on the cable near the mine case to blow in place or can
cut the cable to allow the mine to rise to the surface, where it is rendered safe
or destroyed.

The Avenger surface mine countermeasures vessels are beyond the midpoints of their service lives, and the last ship will retire in 2024. The
Navy is upgrading several systems to ensure their capabilities to carry out todays and tomorrows tasks. Key initiatives include:

s-ODIFYINGTHE311 MINE DETECTIONSONARWITHAHIGHFREQUENCYWIDE BANDCAPABILITY

s0ROVIDINGANEWMORECAPABLE%XPENDABLE-INE.EUTRALIZATION3YSTEM%-.3 TOREPLACETHELEGACY3,1 -INE.EUTRALIZATION3YSTEM
s5PGRADINGTHEMECHANICALANDACOUSTICMAGNETICINmUENCESWEEPSYSTEMS
s0ROVIDINGIMPROVEMENTSTOTHEBOWTHRUSTERVOLTAGEREGULATORSFREQUENCYCONVERTERSCOMMUNICATIONSSUITEANDNAVIGATIONSYSTEMS

The airborne leg of the Navys mine countermeasures triad comprises two squadrons of MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopters, a total of 28
airframes, which includes training and pipeline aircraft. Both squadrons are being collocated at Naval Air Station Norfolks Airborne Mine
Countermeasures Center for Mine Warfare Excellence. The helicopters carry out rapid minesweeping tasks; they can hunt for, identify, and

16
neutralize mines; and they can be airlifted anywhere in the world within 72
hours of the decision to deploy. The Navy has begun a Fatigue Life Exten-
sion Program for structural upgrades to the airframes, which will ensure
that the helicopters can perform their missions until they are retired. The
Sea Dragons employ the following mine countermeasures systems:

s4HE AQS-24 multi-beam side-looking mine-hunting sonar detects

and classifies moored, close-tethered, and bottom mines. The AQS-
24 can also be fitted with a laser line-scan device that allows targets
that have been classified as mine-like to be positively identified as mines
or NOMBOs.
s4HEA Mk 2(G) Acoustic Sweep (also called rattle bars) consists of
parallel pipes or bars, towed together to produce medium- to high-fre-
quency acoustic energy that fires acoustic-influence mines.
s4HEMk 103 Mechanical Sweep system consists of a rugged tow wire, explosive cutters, a depressor, otters, floats, and float pendants to
target shallow-water moored mines.
s4HEMk 104 Acoustic Sweep is a self-rotating cavitating disk inside a venturi tube driven by the flow of water while towed by the helicopter;
it is used to counter acoustic-influence mines.
s4HE Mk 105 Magnetic Sweep is used to counter magnetic influence bottom mines. It is towed by the helicopter and consists of a gas turbine
generator mounted on a sled. The generator produces power for the open-loop-electrode magnetic sweeps, which pulse electrical energy to
replicate the magnetic signatures of surface ships.
s4HEMk 106 Combination Sweep is a combination of the Mk 104 and Mk 105 sweeps and is effective against magnetic and acoustic influ-
ence mines.

The third leg of the triad is the Navys Explosive Ordnance Disposal detachments that guarantee the safety of people, ships, aircraft, in-
stallations, and operations at risk from unexploded ordnance. Highly skilled technicians render safe all types of conventional and unconven-
tional ordnance, improvised devices, and weapons of mass destructionchemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and enhanced-explosive
weapons. They carry out operations at sea and on landfrom the arctic to the tropicsand completely and seamlessly integrate with Navy,
Marine Corps, Joint, inter-agency, and international commands.

17
 EOD Mine Countermeasures personnel directly support mine-hunting and -clearance
operations. They have specialized training in countermeasures-unique equipment and tac-
tics, techniques, and procedures to locate, identify, neutralize or recover or dispose of sea
mines, torpedoes, and other undersea weapons, including underwater IEDs. Key systems
include advanced non-magnetic and acoustically silent diving gear, special-purpose hand-
held sonars, and recovery or neutralization equipment. Shaped charges or other explosives
can blow in place mines, while balloons provide the capability to lift 2,000-pound weap-
ons to the surface for subsequent rendering-safe. Navy EOD mine countermeasures dets
often recover mines to disassemble them and learn how they work. Depending on their
assessment of a weapons technologies, key components, and functions, EOD techs in the
field can determine what types of targets the mines sensors are intended to detect and
what its area of coverage is for a specific ship target. Based on these data and assessments,
the mine countermeasures commander can most safely and effectively allocate counter-
mine resources.

The Navy also maintains several types of Marine Mammal Systems, specially trained
bottlenose dolphins and sea lions for mine detection and neutralization, swimmer de-
fense, and recovery of mines, torpedoes, and other objects. In some situations, the marine
mammals are much more effective than humans or in-service hardware, and they are the
only mine countermeasures system that can detect buried bottom mines, until the intro-
duction of the Surface Mine Countermeasures Unmanned Undersea Vehicle. Each system
has several dolphins or sea lions that can be deployed quickly throughout the world by
strategic airlift and can also be worked from ships in forward operating areas. The in-
service systems are:
sMk 4 Mod 0 dolphins detect and neutralize buoyant close-tethered mines near
the bottom
sMk 5 Mod 1 sea lions attach recovery pendants to exercise mines, torpedoes and other
test objects, as well as other items of interest in water depths greater than 500 feet.
sMk 6 Mod 1 dolphins that defend harbors, anchorages and individual ships against
combat swimmers and divers, a capability that was first used at Cam Rahn Bay in
Vietnam in 1971 and has been deployed several times since then.

18
sMk 7 dolphins detect, locate, and mark or neutralize proud as well as buried
bottom mines in a post-assualt environment for follow-on forces insertion U.S. Navy Mine
sMk 8 dolphins are designed to detect, locate, and mark or neutralize proud as well Countermeasures Priorities
as buried bottom mines in a pre-assault environment to enable the initial assault to
s-ODERNIZEANDMAINTAINTHECURRENT
get ashore fleet capabilities
The Navys mine countermeasures dolphins deployed to the Arabian Gulf in 1988 during s%XECUTE/RGANIC-INE#OUNTERMEA-
Operation Earnest Will, in 1991-92 during Operation Desert Storm/Desert Sweep, and sures programs and establish perfor-
mance baselines
2003 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
s!LIGN-INE#OUNTERMEASURESPRO-
grams with Combatant Commanders
ORGANIC MINE COUNTERMEASURES Integrated Priority Capabilities Lists
The Navy dedicated mine countermeasures force is aging at the same time that the mine s%STABLISHARESPONSIVEMODERNIZATION
threat continues to modernize. As a result, the Navy is making significant investments for program focused on:
s)MPROVINGAREACLEARANCERATE
the future mine-defense force. The requirements are for a new capability that is fast, light,
s)NSERTINGADVANCEDTECHNOLOGY
agile, adaptable, precise, and modularand that ultimately will remove the man and the s2ELYINGONOPENARCHITECTURESYSTEMS
marine mammals from the minefield. During the next decade, the Service will transition s%XPANDINGTHEMINEWARFARE
the mine countermeasures capability from todays dedicated assets to an aircraft carrier industrial base
and expeditionary strike group-focused organic force. Indeed, critical organic elements
are already being delivered to the fleet.

The keystone of this future force is in service, today. The Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) is
the principal host for the MH-60S multi-mission helicopter and several vital mine coun-
termeasures mission module systems. Focused-mission mine, anti-submarine and anti-
surface warfare mission packages are being developed that will provide capabilities critical
to forcible entry, littoral sea superiority, and homeland-defense missions. The ship will
also possess inherent capabilities to conduct missions supporting intelligence, surveillance
and reconnaissance, special operations and maritime interception, regardless of specific
mission package installed.

Eight systems comprise the LCS Mine Countermeasures mission package, and all except
the WLD-1 Remote Minehunting System (RMS), Coastal Battlefield Reconnaissance &

19
 Analysis (COBRA) system, and Surface Mine Countermeasures Unmanned Underwater Vehicle will be deployed from the MH-60S helicop-
ter. These systems provide capabilities to detect, identify, neutralize, and influence-sweep mines. The mine warfare mission package could also
be deployed for use on other ships as well as from facilities ashore. The USS Freedom (LCS-1) was commissioned in November 2008 and has
commenced post-delivery test and trials. The first mine countermeasures mission package delivered in September 2007.

The MH-60S helicopter will provide mine warfare support and will partner with the MH-60R
helicopter for surface warfare missions carrying the same forward-looking infrared air-to-ground
sensors and weapons. The MH-60S will be reconfigurable to provide Combat Search and Rescue
and Naval Special Warfare support to joint theater operations. Airborne mine countermeasures
operations will be accomplished using advanced sensor and weapons packages to provide detec-
tion, localization, and neutralization of anti-access mine threats.

The Remote Multi-Mission Vehicle (RMMV) is an unmanned, semi-autonomous, snorkeling vehicle that tows the
AQS-20A variable-depth sonar to conduct mine-hunting operations. The RMMV is capable of real-time line-of-sight
and over-the-horizon operations using pre-programmed search patterns. Once the mission is completed, RMMV
returns to the ship and data will be downloaded for post-mission analysis.

The AQS-20A Mine Hunting Sonar is an underwater mine-detection sonar housed in a towed, underwater body that
can maintain operator-selected depths below the surface or heights above the bottom. It employs an electro-optic
identification sensor capable of locating and identifying bottom, close-tethered and moored sea mines. The mine-
hunting system will be deployed and operated from the Remote Minehunting System and the MH-60S helicopter on
board the Littoral Combat Ship as part of the Mine Warfare Mission Module.

The AES-1 Airborne Laser Mine Detection System (ALMDS) is a high-area coverage, electro-optic airborne mine
countermeasures laser system that uses Streak Tube Imaging Light Detecting and Ranging (LIDAR) to detect, clas-
sify, and localize floating and near-surface moored sea mines. Deployed from the MH-60S helicopter, ALMDS will
satisfy the Navys need for a quick-response, wide-area, organic system that can rapidly detect and classify mine-like
contacts for subsequent neutralization. This capability will be critical in littoral zones, confined straits, choke points, operating areas and
amphibious objective areas. ALMDS offers a much greater area search rate than other types of airborne mine countermeasures equipment,
and it represents a capability that does not exist in the current inventory.

20
 The AQS-235 Airborne Mine Neutralization System (AMNS) is an expendable, remotely operated mine-neutraliza-
tion device that leverages and integrates non-developmental and commercial-off-the-shelf technologies. Deployed
from MH-60S helicopters, the AMNS will reacquire and neutralize previously identified targets, using the Archerfish
Common Mine Neutralizer against proud bottom and in-volume sea mines.

The ALQ-220 Organic Airborne and Surface Influence Sweep (OASIS) will provide the strike group with an or-
ganic, high-speed, magnetic and acoustic influence sweep capability deployed from the MH-60S helicopter to effec-
tively neutralize sea mine threats in operating areas where mine hunting is not possible due to mine burial or high
bottom clutter. Forward and aft electrodes generate the magnetic signature, which is engaged after deployment and
disengaged prior to recovery and captive carriage. A water-driven acoustic generator creates the acoustic energy that
mimics a ships signature.

The AWS-2 Rapid Airborne Mine Clearance System (RAMICS) is an MH-60S helicopter-deployed system capable
of reacquiring and neutralizing near-surface moored and surface/floating mines in day and night operations. RAM-
ICS fires a Mk 258 Mod 1 30mm supercavitating projectile from a Mark 44 Bushmaster II gun. The supercavitating
tungsten projectile is specially designed for traveling tactical distances in air and water and through a mine casing,
causing a low-order deflagration of the weapon. The gun is controlled by a fire-control system with targeting algo-
rithms coupled with a Light Detection and Ranging system. The LIDAR locates and targets the mine and provides aiming coordinates to the
guns fire control system to fire a burst of rounds at the mine for immediate and positive mine neutralization. RAMICS removes the man and
the mammal from the minefield.

The Coastal Battlefield Reconnaissance & Analysis System is a multi-spectral imagery capability to conduct unmanned
aerial reconnaissance in the littoral battle space to detect minefields, mine lines, and obstacles in the surf zone and beach
exit areas. The COBRA Airborne Payload Subsystem is a modular architecture based on the MQ-8B Fire Scout Vertical
Takeoff and Landing Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. COBRA is integral to the Navys Assault Breaching System, which has fo-
cused on the development of standoff weapons systems to counter mine and obstacle threats in the surf and beach zones.
The program uses a system-of-systems approach that integrates COBRA with the Countermine System and counter-
obstacle, precision craft navigation, lane marking, and command-and-control capabilities. A near-term capability using
the Joint Direct-Attack Munition (JDAM) was fielded in 2007, with an enhanced far-term capability expected by 2015.

21
OPERATIONAL TACSIT
The mine countermeasures commander must con-
sider a set of unique circumstancese.g., mine types, In all of the Navys dedicated and organic mine countermeasures operations,
number of mines planted, minefield purpose and however, understanding the mine warfare factors of the nations maritime
construction, bathymetry, environmental conditions, domain awareness will be critically important for success in this complex and
bottom type, bottom sediment, NOMBOsin the de- demanding naval warfare area.
velopment of any countermeasures plan. The plan will
apply mine countermeasures techniques against the
threat in an integrated, logical and orderly progression MINE DOMAIN AWARENESS
of events, usually with the objective to clear an area of Maritime Domain Awarenesswhat the National Strategy for Maritime Security
mines as quickly as possible and minimize the residual describes as the effective understanding of anything associated with the mari-
threat. Both dedicated and organic countermeasures time domain that could impact the security, safety, economy, or environment of
systems can contribute to mission success. The near- the United States, and identifying threats as early and as distant from our shores
surface threat would be addressed, first: as possiblewill be necessary for success against a broad spectrum of mari-
time threats, but especially mines and underwater IEDs. Without doubt, the best
countermeasures will keep the weapons from being deployed in the first place.
Dedicated Force
But, if that tactic fails and weapons are in the water, the Navyand increasingly
s-ECHANICALLYSWEEPWITHAIRBORNEMINECOUNTER- the U.S. Coast Guard under the National Fleet Policy in support of domestic
measures helicopters
mine countermeasures needsmust have detailed knowledge of the threat and
s.EUTRALIZESWEPTMINESWITHEXPLOSIVEORDNANCE the physical environment, in short, Mine Domain Awareness.
disposal divers
Know your enemy has been a fun-
damental military precept for mil-
Organic Force lennia. That said, about 90 percent
s(UNTWITHTHE!IRBORNE,ASER-INE$ETECTION3YSTEM of all mine hunting and sweeping
operations have been conducted in
s.EUTRALIZEMINESWITH2APID!IRBORNE-INE areas in which mines have not been
Clearance System
deployedunderscoring the need for
good actionable intelligence. Indeed,
strategic, operational, and tactical in-
telligence about the threat is absolutely essential, a fact-of-life confirmed in the
1991 and 2003 Arabian Gulf operations. Today, numerous U.S. government agen-
cies, and those of key allies, as well, contribute to U.S. mine warfare capabilities.

22
 OPERATIONAL TACSIT (CONTINUED)
Once the near-surface mine threat has been addressed,
the mine countermeasures commander would clear
At the strategic level, the intelligence in-volume, close-tethered, and bottom mines:
community and the Departments The United States must be pre-
of State, Commerce, and Defense pared for any potential terrorist Dedicated Force
monitor the mine warfare activities activity in our ports, harbors and
s(UNTWITH311 SONARONSURFACEMINE
of potential adversaries. Addition- waterways, including threats from
countermeasures ships
ally, these departments work with maritime mines and Underwater
allies and industry to develop a clear Improvised Explosive Devices. s(UNTWITH!13 !SONARONAIRBORNEMINE
picture of commercial mine-market- Admiral Patrick M. Walsh, USN countermeasures helicopters
ing efforts. Vice Chief of Naval Operations s)DENTIFYANDNEUTRALIZEWITH%/$DIVERS-INE.EU-
January 2008 tralization System or Expendable Mine
At the operational level, the Depart- Neutralization System
ments of Defense and Navy monitor
the development, acquisition, and sale of sea mines through intelligence-collec- s)DENTIFYWITH,ASER,INE3CANSYSTEM
tion activities and interaction with foreign militaries. Potential adversaries mine s)NmUENCESWEEPWITHAIRBORNEANDSURFACEMINE
orders of battle are tracked and assessed: What kinds of mines are in their stock- countermeasures systems
PILES(OWDOTHEMINESlRE7HATISTHEEXPLOSIVEWEIGHTOFTHEMINES7HERE
ARETHEMINESSTOCKPILED(OWARETHEMINESTRANSPORTEDTOASSEMBLYPOINTSOR
Organic Force
STAGINGSITES7HATROUTESANDTYPESOFVEHICLESAREUSED7HATKINDSOFASSETSOR
VESSELSAREUSEDFORMINELAYING7HATISTHELOCATIONOFTHEMINE LAYINGASSETS s(UNTWITH2EMOTE-INEHUNTING3YSTEMOR-( 3
helicopter with AQS-20A sonar
To support this analysis, foreign mines can be acquired for technical analysis and
to develop tactics, techniques, procedures, and equipment to counter them. s2EACQUIREANDIDENTIFYWITH2EMOTE-INEHUNT-
ing System or MH-60S/AQS-20A configured with
Finally, at the tactical level, the Navy and other agencies monitor training and Electro-Optical Identification System
exercises to answer key questions about adversaries mine warfare capabilities:
What is the offensive or defensive mining strategyblockade, area denial, ha- s.EUTRALIZEWITH!IRBORNE-INE.EUTRALIZATION
System
RASSMENT7HATMINETYPESAREAVAILABLETOSUPPORTTHESTRATEGY)NACRISISOR
CONmICTHAVEMINESBEENLAIDANDHOWMANYAREINTHEWATER7HEREARETHEY s)NmUENCESWEEPWITH/RGANIC!IRBORNEAND3URFACE
LAID7HATMINElELDPATTERNSAREUSED)SRESEEDINGPARTOFTHESTRATEGY(OW Influence Sweep system
WILLRESEEDINGOCCUR!LLTHESEANDMORECONTRIBUTETOTHE.AVYSMINECOUNTER-
measures posture.

23
 Likewise, to prepare for a possible domestic mine crisis, accurate intelligence about the terrorist mine and underwater IED threat is absolutely
ESSENTIAL7HATTERRORISTGROUPSAREACTIVE7HATWEAPONSMIGHTTHEYHAVE!RETHEREANYINDICATIONSANDWARNINGTHATTHEYAREPLANNING
SINGLEORMULTIPLESTRIKESIN53WATERS7HATTACTICSMIGHTTHEYEMPLOY)NADDITIONTOGOODSTRATEGICANDOPERATIONALINTELLIGENCEEXISTING
and future vessel surveillance, identification, and tracking systems and organizations, such as the Coast Guard/Navy Joint Harbor Operations
Centers, need to be focused at the tactical level to the potential need to detect, control, and engage minelayers before they start their tasks.

The second critical factor contributing to U.S. mine domain awareness is good knowledge of the physical, geographic, oceanographic, bathy-
metric, and environmental characteristics of potential mining areas and data of sufficient quality and currency to support mine countermea-
sures operations. These factors will drive both the use and placement of mines and the tactics and the choice of techniques used to counter
them. The intelligence preparation of the environment is critical for operational success, whether the need is halfway around the world
or in U.S. coastal waterways, ports, and rivers.

Exacerbating the domestic mine and underwater IED challenge is the fact
that no two ports are alike: compare New York/New Jersey, Baltimore, Norfolk,
Jacksonville, Houston, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, and Hawaiiamong
a total of some 360 U.S. ports. Each differs in geography, channel layout, ba-
thymetry, wind, tide, current, bottom sediment, turbidity, climate, and criti-
cal infrastructurepiers and wharves, moorings, navigation markers, cables,
pipelines, and more, with most bottom infrastructure uncharted or its location
long forgottenmaking the already complex problem of detecting, identifying
and defeating mines and underwater IEDs in U.S. ports even more daunting.
For these reasons, the Navy has embarked on a program of focused bottom
surveys of key ports and waterways to facilitate change-detection and mine
countermeasures operations in an emergency.

Indeed, Mine Warfare Environmental Surveys, Mine Warfare Pilots, and bottom surveys provide the information and knowledge that are
critical to the conduct of mine countermeasures operations at home and overseas. The Navys Mine Warfare and Environmental Decision
Aids Library (MEDAL) is the Services Mine Warfare Decision Support System, enabling and supporting forces with a single command and
control tool. MEDAL provides tactical decision aid functionality to the warfighter, including integrated mission planning, evaluation, and

24
situational awareness capability. MEDAL also provides the warfare commander and
other supporting commanders with coordinated mine warfare situational awareness. Deployed surreptitiously underwater or de-
MEDAL integrates intelligence preparation of the environment data, mission plan- livered by suicide boats, IEDs in our ports and
ning and evaluation, situation awareness, and command-and-control capabilities to waterways could have chilling effects on the na-
support the Mine Countermeasures Commander, organic and dedicated mine coun- tions trademore than 90 percent of which is
carried by ship and is critical for our globalized
termeasures operators, and all naval and maritime forces requiring mine warfare situ-
just-in-time and just-enough economy. Re-
ational awareness.
sponse to a domestic IED threat will be com-
Likewise, environmental and oceanographic knowledge is important for the Navys pletely different from what U.S. forces handle
mining strategies and operations, and must be taken into account by minefield plan- overseas, as there are law-enforcement and
ners to ensure that U.S. mines are effective against intended targets. infrastructure-protection concerns here that do
not figure in military operations.
The Honorable Jay M. Cohen
MINES AND MINING Under Secretary for Science and Technology
Department of Homeland Security
The aircraft-deployed Quickstrike mines are the only mines in the Navys inventory in
March 2008
2009. They include one dedicated thin-wall mine, the Mk 65, 2,300-pound mine, and
two mines converted from bombs, the Mk 62 500-pound and Mk 63 1,000-pound
mines. Because the Mk 62/63 mines are bomb-conversion weapons, aircraft carrier
air wings have the flexibility to conduct mining operations without the need to carry
mines as additional ordnance.

Countering an enemy surface ship or submarine threat in the littorals is a mission well
suited to Quickstrike. Tactically, a well-placed Quickstrike minefield could facilitate
finding and neutralizing enemy ships and submarines by trapping them in port at the
beginning of a conflict, or making sure they could not make it to homeports safely. They
could also have strategic impact, as Operation Starvation underscored in 1945.

Quickstrike mines are being upgraded with the Target Detection Device (TDD) Mk
71, a state-of-the-art firing mechanism. It can sense magnetic, seismic, and pressure

25
 signatures and can be programmed with sophisticated target-processing algorithms and counter-countermeasures. This enables the Navys
miners to optimize performance against different target classes and to counter future threat targets. Engineering development efforts include
advanced algorithms for ship detection, classification and localization against likely threats, including quiet diesel-electric submarines, mini-
subs, fast patrol boats and air-cushioned vehicles.

The Naval Mine and Anti-Submarine Warfare Command has the authority for planning all U.S. Navy mining operations, including require-
ments analysis, preparing mining plans, and operations. The Commander, Mobile Mine Assembly Group, a subordinate command of the
Naval Munitions Command, has the responsibility for mine stockpile maintenance and requirements. Mobile Mine Assembly Group has
six Mobile Mine Assembly Units located around the world that maintain a mine inventory suitable for their areas of responsibility. Should
the need arise, the mine assembly units prepare mines for pre-planned minefields and deliver those mines to component commanders
for deployment.

ORGANIZING FOR MINE WARFARE

Immediately after Desert Storm, the Navy addressed the mine warfare challenges and lessons learned from the crisis. The Navy established
the Commander Mine Warfare Command as the single Flag Officer responsible for mine warfare. Additionally, the Navy put in place an
Expeditionary Warfare Directorate (N85) on the staff of the Chief of Naval Operations (OPNAV) to oversee mine warfare requirements and
funding issues. The Navy also established the Program Executive Office for Mine Warfare (PEO MIW) to oversee all mine-warfare related
research and development and acquisition programsa strategic linkage between the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Develop-
ment and Acquisition and the Naval Sea Systems Command. And, it put the processes in place to ensure that the requirements, programs, and
operational perspectives remained in sharp focus.

While the names of these key organizations have changed, the Navy has continued to strengthen the mine warfare framework it put in place
nearly two decades ago. The Naval Mine and Anti-Submarine Warfare Command (NMAWC) is responsible for mine warfare operational
planning in response to regional Combatant Commanders tasking. The Director Expeditionary Warfare remains the OPNAV mine warfare
resource sponsor, while oversight for all mine warfareas well as many other littoral warfare programsresearch and development, and
acquisition are today the focus of the Program Executive Office for Littoral and Mine Warfare (PEO LMW).

The Chief of Naval Operations has also instituted a fleet collaborative team process to drive the Navys mine warfare programs and opera-
tions. With oversight from U.S. Fleet Forces Command and Commander Pacific Fleet, the Commander Third Fleet is the operational agent

26
responsible for the Navys Mine Warfare mission area. The Commander Naval
Mine and Anti-submarine Warfare Command is the Flag Officer and principal Successful mining of the sea lines of communication
is a show stopper. Todays global system of commerce
naval authority for the mine warfare missionco-equal with anti-submarine
assumes that they will always be open.
warfareand head of the anti-submarine and mine warfare fleet collaborative
team. Specifically focusing on mines and mine countermeasures, the Naval Mine Admiral Gary Roughead, USN
Chief of Naval Operations
and Anti-Submarine Warfare Command is charged to:
April 2009
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s&OCUSACROSSTHEMINEWARFAREMISSIONAREATOINCLUDERESOURCESPONSORSINTHE/FlCEOFTHE#HIEFOF.AVAL/PERATIONSTHE.AVYS3YSTEMS
Commands, government and private laboratories, and experimentation initiatives
s!RTICULATEMINEWARFAREOPERATIONALANDFUTUREREADINESSCAPABILITIESREQUIREMENTS
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sSupport operational commanders with a standing deployable mine warfare battle staff that can carry out several vital functions, including
mine warfare operational and contingency plan development, maritime component commander and theater staff support, and delegated
operational control of air, surface, and underwater mine countermeasures forces

The Navys mine warfare mission area, particularly the mine countermeasures force, is thus in transition from a legacy force of dedicated mine
countermeasures platforms to a more mobile, more responsive, and more available countermeasures capability that will provide fleet operators
with shorter timelines, more certain clearance, and reduced risk, while ultimately removing the man and the mammals from the minefield.

U.S. NAVY MINE WARFARE VISION

The Navy has articulated an overarching vision for 21st-Century Mine Warfare. The principal objective of the Navys Mine Countermeasures
Vision is to decrease significantly the time required to conduct countermeasures operations, while ensuring low risk to naval and commercial
vessels, and to remove the man from the minefield. Additionally, the Service will continue to address the nations mining capabilities to sup-
port national strategies and operational plans.

To accomplish this Mine Countermeasures Vision, the Navy is already embarked in the design of an enhanced capability based on a common
set of unmanned, modular systems that can be organic to aircraft carrier and expeditionary strike group operations. This modular capability

27
 will also be able to be used on other ship platforms of opportunity or from bases ashore. The Mine Countermeasures Vision also includes the
ability for the Mine Countermeasures Force and its systems to be distributed over large areas and networked through a system of off-board
nodes. Supporting surveillance systems, both for intelligence and the environment, will also be integrated into this network. Key enablers of
the Navys Mine Countermeasures Vision are the overarching concept of operations; the development of cooperative, unmanned, modular
systems; the establishment of a capable networked command and control system; and standing up an accurate and interactive environmental
system with the ability to form and disseminate a Common Environmental Picture.

The Navy will continue to close capability gaps, especially those that might frustrate achieving primary mine countermeasures goals. The
Navy will work to transition Science and Technology systems into the fleet, to identify additional capability gaps and to provide direction to
the Science and Technology community. Critical technologies and capabilities needed to ensure that the Navys Mine Countermeasures Vi-
sion is achieved include:
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s$ECREASESENSORFALSEALARMRATE s)MPROVENETWORKCOMMUNICATIONS
s2EDUCEORELIMINATEPOST MISSIONANALYSISDETECT s!UTOMATICTARGETRECOGNITION
CLASSIFYIDENTIFYDECIDETIME s!CHIEVEIN STRIDEDETECT TO ENGAGECAPABILITY

The Mine Countermeasures Force that results from this Vision will include a common set of distributed, cooperative, unmanned, modular
systems netted into a common command-and-control architecture, which are able to be operated from a variety of platforms and can counter
all mine threats throughout all environmental and operational situations.

The Navy will also continue to improve its mining capability centered on the Quickstrike family of mines. Advanced targeting algorithms and
counter-countermeasures will be pursued for the Target Detection Device Mk 71, and sufficient quantities of this advanced mine sensor will
be acquired to meet projected operational requirements.

Mine warfarethe ability to counter an adversarys mines as well as to use mines to support national strategies and operationsis a vital nation-
al capability. The Navys Mine Warfare Vision is focused and clear, and the Service has put in place forward-leaning research and development,
acquisition and in-service programs that will increase critical capacity. Most fundamentally, however, the highly skilled and experienced people
who carry out complex and dangerous mine warfare tasks are the foundation for success in this most challenging naval warfare area. As E. Anne
Sandel, Program Executive Officer for Littoral and Mine Warfare, upon Assumption of Command, stated: We are going to deliver the best
possible Mine Warfare capability to our Sailors and Marines. That is our mission and our single most important objective.

28
MINE WARFARE READING LIST
Belknap, Reginald R., Capt. USN. The North Sea Mine Barrage, National Geographic Magazine, February 1919
Duncan, Robert C. Americas Use of Sea Mines (White Oak / Silver Spring, MD: Naval Ordnance Laboratory, 1962)
Greer, William and James C. Bartholomew. Psychological Aspects of Mine Warfare (Alexandria, VA: Center for Naval Analyses, 1982)
Griffiths, Maurice. The Hidden Menace (Greenwich, UK: Conway Maritime Press, 1981)
Hartmann, Gregory K., with Scott C. Truver. Weapons that Wait: Mine Warfare in the U.S. Navy. Updated Edition. (Annapolis, MD:
Naval Institute Press, 1991)
Levie, Howard S. Mine Warfare at Sea (Boston, MA: M. Nijhoff, 1992)
Lott, Arnold S. Most Dangerous Sea: A History of Mine Warfare and an Account of U.S. Navy Mine Warfare Operations in World War II
and Korea (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1959)
Lyons, H. Dwight, Jr., with Eleanor A. Baker, Sabrina R. Edlow, and David A. Perin. The Mine Threat: Show Stoppers or Speed Bumps?
(Alexandria, VA: Center for Naval Analyses, July 1993)
Marlatt, Greta E. Sea Mines and Countermeasures, A Bibliography (Monterey, CA: Dudley Knox Library, Naval Postgraduate School,
at http://www.nps.edu/Library/Research/Bibliographies/index.html and http://www.nps.edu/Library/Research/Bibliographies/Sea-
Mines/seamines2007.pdf.pdf)
Marolda, Edward J., ed. Operation End Sweep: A History of Minesweeping Operations in North Vietnam (Washington, D.C.: Naval His-
torical Center, Department of the Navy, 1993)
Melia, Tamara Moser. Damn the Torpedoes: A Short History of U.S. Naval Mine Countermeasures, 1777-1991. Contributions to Naval
History Number 4 (Washington, D.C.: Naval Historical Center, Department of the Navy, 1991)
Mine Warfare Plan: Meeting the Challenges of an Uncertain World. (Washington, DC: Office of the Chief of Naval Operations,
29 January 1992)
Morison, Samuel L. International Guide to Naval Mine Warfare. 2nd ed. (Washington, DC: King Communications Group, Inc., 2000)
Naval Mine Warfare: Operational and Technical Challenges for Naval Forces (Washington, DC: Naval Studies Board, National Research
Council, National Academy Press, 2001)
Oceanography and Mine Warfare (Washington, D.C: Ocean Studies Board, National Research Council, National Academy Press, 2000)
 Program Executive Office
Littoral and Mine Warfare

Expeditionary Warfare Directorate

U.S. Navy
2009