U.S. Tests Unmanned Mine Detectors in Large Scale Naval Exercise

The U.S. Navy successfully detected underwater mines using unmanned systems in the U.S. Navy's Large Scale Exercise(LSE) 2021.
The Navy Expeditionary Combat Command's Expeditionary Mine Countermeasures, or exMCM, Company 2-3 and the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 6 (EODMU-6), EOD Group 2, embarked on amphibious ship, USS Arlington to participate in the exercise.

Sailors from EODMU-6 deployed two unmanned undersea vehicles from inflatable boats out of Arlington to detect and destroy underwater mines, the navy said in a release.

"We embarked on the Arlington to conduct underwater mine countermeasures from the sea," Senior Chief Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician Clifford Sabo, ExMCM Company 203's leading chief petty officer, said. "Over the last week, with help from the Arlington crew, my unmanned systems platoon was able to find and identify two underwater training mine-like contacts on the ocean floor," Sabo added.

The ExMCM is an adaptable force of vehicles capable of integrating with or separating from each other operate in high-risk environments.

The LSE event across multiple fleets provided high-end training at sea and ashore to show how maritime operations synchronize in support of the joint force, the Navy said.

In September of 2019, the Navy had tested Mk 18 Mod 1 Swordfish and Mk 18 Mod 2 Kingfish UUVs in cold water to perform mine hunting, hydrographic surveys and intelligence preparation of the operational environment.