The United States could use drones, robots with explosives and helicopters in order to reduce the risks. However, de-mining teams could still be at risk from Iranian attacks. As part of its efforts to stop Iran's shipping disruption, the U.S. wants to clear the Strait of Mines. This has caused a severe curtailment of?global oil supplies since U.S.-Israeli strikes against Iran ended in February. Former naval officers and industry experts say that while the U.S. has the'modernised technology' to remotely search for and remove the mines, clearing the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway, will still be a long, multi-step, slow process. Over the weekend, the U.S. Military announced that it had begun the mine-clearing operations, sending two ships through the Strait of Hormuz. However, they provided few details on the equipment used. The U.S. military said Saturday that it would be adding additional forces to the effort, including underwater drones. Last month, sources familiar with this matter reported that Iran had deployed a dozen mines recently in the Strait of Hormuz. The exact location of the mines is unknown.

Donald Trump, the U.S. president, said that all of Iran's minelaying vessels had been sunk. Some experts said that Tehran may deploy more devices. Mine warfare works because it is cheap and easy to remove.

MODERNIZING MINESWEEPING

The U.S. Navy has relied traditionally on minesweeping ships manned by divers that entered minefields. Sonars were used to locate explosive devices, and mechanical gear was dragged behind vessels to remove them. A large part of the aging fleet was retired.

The littoral battle ships are replacing them. They carry mine-hunting technology such as semiautonomous surface and undersea drones, as well as robots controlled remotely that allow crews to move away from minefields. Three of these are deployed by the navy. A senior U.S. government official said in late March that two of these ships were being maintained in Singapore. According to an official, at the time, U.S. minesweeping capability in the Middle East consisted of unmanned 'undersea vehicles', four traditional Avenger class vessels, helicopters, and divers. The U.S. Navy has not responded to a request for comment on its mine-clearing capabilities in the Middle East. U.S. Central Command refused to provide any further details.

Former naval officials and other experts claim that Tehran may possess several types maritime mines. There are several types of mines, including bottom mines, which rest on the seabed, but detonate as ships pass over them, tethered, which are anchored, but float nearer the surface, drifting, or free-moving, mines, and limpet, that attach to a ship hull. In the U.S., unmanned surface vehicles and underwater vehicles with sensors will be used to search for mines. Once a minelike object has been detected, data is usually transferred to crews operating outside of the minefield who then identify the device. The crews then decide how to neutralize the device.

Former naval officials claim that the Navy has expanded its search capability to include unmanned surface vehicles and underwater vehicles equipped with sonar, as well helicopters used for spotting mines at surface level. According to BAE Systems, the Navy has the ability to destroy mines using systems like the torpedo shaped Archerfish. This remotely operated device is about 2 metres long, and carries a charge of explosives. It also transmits video to the operators via cable. It is designed to be disposable and costs tens of thousands of dollars.

Bryan Clark, retired U.S. Navy officer and senior fellow of the Hudson Institute, says that the U.S. can also use "unmanned boats" towing mine-sweeping vehicles, which trigger mine detonations, or collect mines. Specialists say that human divers are sometimes used for a variety of purposes, including intelligence gathering.

SLOW PROCESS

Clark stated that clearing the strait might take up to two weeks. Iranian attacks against mine-clearing teams could also slow down the process. He said that the U.S. Military may use defensive measures such as ships and airborne drones to protect crews and equipment.

In March, U.S. Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Daryl Caudle said that finding and destroying mines takes a lot of time. He added that this leaves the mine-clearing capabilities "vulnerable".

Specialists?say that new technologies are being developed for mine clearance. This is primarily due to advances in sensors. Thales, the French defence and technology group, claims that its latest sonar scans a suspected mine in three different directions at once. This process is usually done by multiple sweeps.

Artificial intelligence advances also allow for more data analysis onboard unmanned ships.

In the long term, it is hoped to deploy groups unmanned systems capable of searching for, identifying and destroying mines.

Mark Bock, retired U.S. Navy Captain and vice president of Thales' U.S. Navy division said: "That doesn't even exist today." "But that's what all nations try to achieve right now," said Mark Bock, a retired U.S. Navy captain who is now vice president of business development at Thales' U.S. Navy business.

(source: Reuters)