Iran reportedly began laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz this week, with U.S. Central Command announcing<\/a> Tuesday that it had struck 16 Iranian mine-layers.<\/p>\n The U.S. remains confident that it\u2019s new phase of mine countermeasure capabilities can successfully thwart mine warfare.<\/p>\n \u201cThe [littoral combat ship] MCM mission package is a sophisticated suite of manned and unmanned systems designed to locate, identify, and neutralize sea mines, at a safer distance from minefields than the Avenger-class MCMs,\u201d a Navy official told Military Times on the condition of anonymity.<\/p>\n Independence-class littoral combat ships equipped with the mine countermeasures mission package<\/a> began arriving in the U.S. Fifth Fleet last year to replace the decommissioned minesweepers in Bahrain.<\/p>\n The USS Canberra was<\/a> the first LCS with the MCM package to arrive in the Middle East on May 22. The USS Santa Barbara and USS Tulsa, two other littoral combat ships with the MCM package, were also stationed in the U.S. Fifth Fleet as of Sept. 25, 2025, with a yet-to-be-named fourth LCS on its way, according<\/a> to USNI News.<\/p>\n Unlike the minesweepers, which have a long history of being battle-tested, the LCS with the MCM package has never been deployed in combat.<\/p>\n If the LCS is used during Operation Epic Fury to address Iranian mines, it will be a first. <\/p>\n The LCS with the MCM package possesses similar counter-mine capabilities as minesweepers, but the fundamental difference is that the LCS operates outside the mine threat zone and deploys counter-mine devices, while the minesweepers can operate near or directly inside the mine-threat zone.<\/p>\n Minesweepers boast a non-magnetic signature and low acoustic footprint designed to avoid triggering sea mines, allowing them to operate closer to dangerous areas.<\/p>\n They deploy a bevy of resources to destroy and disable moored and bottom mines, including sonar, cable cutters and mine detonating devices.<\/p>\n RELATED Beginning in the 1980s, the U.S. manufactured 14 deployable Avenger-class ships in total, according<\/a> to the Navy.<\/p>\n The ships were deployed in the Persian Gulf during the Iran-Iraq war, Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/AGFEHQDPWJCO5JS63AMWPKUZWU.jpg\")
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