Centcom, which is overseeing Epic Fury and other American military efforts in the Middle East, announced in a press release<\/a> Saturday that its forces had begun \u201csetting conditions\u201d for clearing the devices, stating that the guided missile destroyers USS Frank E. Peterson (DDG 121) and USS Michael Murphy (DDG 112) \u201ctransited the Strait of Hormuz and operated in the Arabian Gulf as part of a broader mission to ensure the strait is fully clear of sea mines previously laid by Iran\u2019s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.\u201d<\/p>\n In a statement, Centcom commander Adm. Brad Cooper said: \u201cToday, we began the process of establishing a new passage and we will share this safe pathway with the maritime industry soon to encourage the free flow of commerce.\u201d<\/p>\n The press release stated that additional U.S. forces, including \u201cunderwater drones,\u201d will join the clearance effort \u201cin the coming days.\u201d<\/p>\n The post didn\u2019t identify the unmanned underwater vehicles that will be involved.<\/p>\n The Navy is investing in a variety of UUVs and other robotic systems as a means of increasing the sea service\u2019s capacity and keeping sailors out of harm\u2019s way.<\/p>\n One underwater drone that could potentially be employed for mine clearing operations in the Strait of Hormuz is the Knifefish, which was built by General Dynamics and is designed to be deployed off Littoral Combat Ships as part of the vessel\u2019s mine countermeasure mission package.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Knifefish UUV provides the mine warfare commander with enhanced mine-hunting capability by detecting, classifying and identifying both buried mines and mines in high clutter environments,\u201d according to a company website<\/a> about the platform.<\/p>\n \u201cKnifefish\u2019s job is to detect, avoid and identify mine threats, reducing the risk to personnel by operating in the minefield as an off-board sensor while the host ship stays outside the minefield boundaries. Knifefish also gathers environmental data to provide intelligence support for other mine warfare systems,\u201d per the website.<\/p>\n In 2023, the Navy declared<\/a> that its new mine countermeasures mission package had reached initial operational capability,<\/p>\n \u201cAn integrated suite of unmanned maritime systems and sensors, the MCM MP counteracts mines in the littorals while increasing the host vessel\u2019s standoff distance from the threat area. Embarked with the MCM MP, [a littoral combat ship] or a vessel of opportunity can conduct the full spectrum of detect-to-engage operations (hunt, neutralize, and sweep) against mine threats using sensors and weapons deployed from the MCM Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV), an MH-60S multi-mission helicopter, and associated support equipment,\u201d the service said in a release at the time.<\/p>\n
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