A History of Naval …show more content…
Mines have been and still are a threat to naval vessels which has most recently been used in Iraqi and Iranian mines. The objective of mine countermeasures can be separated into four points. The first point of mine countermeasures is the exploratory aspect which incorporates the search for mines in order to determine the disposition, type, and status. The second point is breakthrough, which involves opening channels to allow access to ports. The third objective is attrition which is the minimization of threats mine sweeping and hunting. The last objective for mine countermeasures is clearance which consists of the removal of all mines before traffic is permitted to continue through an area. Offensively, surface warfare mine countermeasures are usually achieved through power projection which targets mine stockpiles or mine laying vessels. The defense of mine warfare is initiated when a minefield is discovered and the subdivided into passive and active defensive mine countermeasures. Passive mine countermeasures are generally about self-protection which includes acoustic silencing, magnetic delousing, avoiding detection. Active mine countermeasures are the measures set in place to deal with one mine at a time accordingly. Such measures include mine hunting in which mines are detected and classified with hunting sonars and magnetometers and disabled with an explosive charge. Another example of active countermeasures is a mechanical minesweeping. This is the process of cutting the mooring cables of moored mines and allowing them to float to the surface to be disarmed by an EOD detachment. Other means to accomplish active mine countermeasures are influence sweeps where a decoy vehicle is used to denote mines and clearance diving where divers search, locate and neutralize