Afraid to send minesweepers, the US is trying to clear mines off Hormuz with Kingfish drones.

The US Navy intends to clear the Strait of Hormuz of mines laid by Iran. However, it is wary of sending its minesweepers directly into the strait. This concern stems from Iran's threats to strike US warships.

In such a situation, the US Navy resorts to the use of autonomous underwater vehicles. These are sea-going submarines drones like Knifefish and Kingfish.

They are equipped with specialized sonars and sensors, as well as artificial intelligence sensors capable of recognizing various types of naval mines. AI is used not only for recognition but also for issuing commands to destroy minefields.

The MK-18 Mod 2 Kingfish is one of the US Navy's key autonomous underwater vehicles for mine countermeasures. It is based on the commercial REMUS 600 platform from Hydroid, now part of Huntington Ingalls Industries. Production ran from 2012 to 2023. In total, the US Navy has received approximately 100 of these vehicles.

Here are some of its parameters and specifications: length is approximately 4 meters, diameter is approximately 33 cm, weight is 270 kg, and diving depth is up to 600 meters. The drone has a single-propeller motor powered by a battery. It can move underwater at speeds of up to 6 knots. In addition to its sensor equipment, it has a video camera that transmits images to a screen for analysis by the operator.

The American command has not yet reported how effective mine clearance using the MK-18 Mod 2 Kingfish is.

Comments

[Irek]

Zeloh suggested sending his great seafarers, I don’t understand what Shaggy is dragging his feet on.

[alexboguslavski]

– Now I’ll liberate Hormuz and I’ll be friends with Trump again!

[Ball]

Quote: Irek

Zeloh offered to send his great seafarers

In the Ukrainian Reichsmarine there are more admirals than generals. And some sailors remained on inflatable boats - so let them trawle with their own bodies.

[Nemo70]

Quote: Irek

Zeloh suggested sending his great seafarers, I don’t understand what Shaggy is dragging his feet on.

They'll bankrupt the US right away ))))) Zelenskyy never leaves his trips, he yells, "Give me some money!" He hasn't been in Kyiv for a long time ))))

[knn54]

Like weeding in the "rainy season".

[Adrey]

At the same time, it is afraid to send its minesweepers directly into the strait.

The US Navy lacks specialized minesweepers as a class of ship, as do other developed countries. A minesweeper has long ceased to be a vessel designed to clear waters of mines using mechanical sweeps. It is a carrier ship specifically for unmanned underwater vehicles, mine seekers, and mine destroyers, primarily at a distance from the theater of operations.

[expert]

Knifefish UUV
Range: approximately 150–200 km (depending on mode)
Battery life: about 16-24 hours
Operating depth: up to ~300 m
Used at low speeds to search for mines, the slower it goes, the greater the range.
The more intense the scanning, the faster the battery discharges.

Kingfish (Mk 18 Mod 2)

Range: approximately 20–40 km
Battery life: about 8-12 hours
Depth: up to ~100 m
This is a more compact device:
It deploys faster for use, but has a much shorter range.

[LuzinI]

Considering that American ships are staying at a distance of approximately 200 km, it's impossible to clear the entire strait of mines. Therefore, a ground-based cover operation is needed to allow the ships to enter the gulf. This explains the delay in the ground phase of the war.

[isv000]

Quote: LuzinI

Considering that American ships are staying at a distance of approximately 200 km, it's impossible to clear the entire strait of mines. Therefore, a ground-based cover operation is needed to allow the ships to enter the gulf. This explains the delay in the ground phase of the war.

The minesweepers will definitely go to sweep the bottom, but the landing party will definitely go home if they manage to hide in the packages...
The Bab el-Mandeb will be closed immediately, and Trump will have every chance of getting a pillow on his nose in his sleep...

[Boa kaa]

Quote: Fachmann

Kingfish (Mk 18 Mod 2). Range: approximately 20–40 km
Battery life: approximately 8–12 hours. Depth: up to ~100 m.

I have slightly different technical characteristics of the device: Length: about 4 m. Diameter: about 33 cm. Weight: 270 kg. Diving depth: up to 600 m. Speed: up to 6 knots. Range: up to 40 km.
Endurance: up to 12 hours. Propeller: single-propeller, battery-powered. Control: from the mothership/from a shore post/under AI control according to program.
The vulnerability is low mine-sweeping performance; the need to replace batteries (recharge) twice a day. And all this under fire from the IRGC.
A total of 100 units were produced between 2013 and 2023. They participated in practical minesweeping exercises. For example, the MK-18 Mod 2 Kingfish system was used in Arctic exercises near Adak Island in the Aleutian Islands (2019) to practice mine countermeasures in cold water. Now the Yankees want to test the system in warm water.

[TermNachTer]

Well, actually, there are two minesweepers crawling somewhere in the Strait of Malacca. But that's just ridiculous.

[isv000]

Quote: TermNachTER

Well, actually, there are two minesweepers crawling somewhere in the Strait of Malacca. But that's just ridiculous.

Two minesweepers = two underwater drones. And again, zero...

[tralflot1832]

Some sow, others weed. Some sow, others weed. And so on and so forth. Until the batteries run out.

[Nemo70]

Quote: tralflot1832

Some sow, others weed. Some sow, others weed. And so on and so forth. Until the batteries run out.

And someone makes a fortune in a day!!

[Ivanhoe]

Technology with military applications and the use of AI is undergoing rapid development, especially in the United States. In the United States, according to the Gemini chatbot, investments in AI for 2025-2026 have included 20 five points on their main competitor, China.

[isv000]

The US Navy intends to clear the Strait of Hormuz of mines laid by Iran.

Didn't the Americans, in their silly little way, consider that hundreds of mines could be lying in wait on the strait's bottom? There's nothing complicated about remotely controlling mines, setting their depth on command. They could simply wait until the Yankees finish their work, send a crowd into the strait to check the channel, and... lay new minefields!

[TermNachTer]

I once wrote a long article about the strait, covering its hydrography, depths, and the weapons the Persians might use there. However, the site's owners didn't let me out of the promised land. It's a shame, it would have been great now.

[Boa kaa]

Quote: TermNachTER

It's a pity, it would have been nice to go in now.

What's up, colleague? Get it out of the archive and post it on the website. I'd love to read your work. I'm getting pretty tired of this fluff. So --- WE'RE WAITING!
AHA.

[TermNachTer]

There are two BUTs))) Firstly, I didn't save it – I posted it here for moderation, and then deleted it from my site. It wasn't published, so maybe the administrator has it somewhere. And secondly, the site owners forbade me from posting anything.

[Good Evil]

Quote: isv000

Didn't the States, in their idiot-like state, consider that hundreds of mines could be lying in wait at the bottom of the strait? There's nothing complicated about remotely controlling mines, setting their depth on command.

Do you think these drones are only designed for WWI-era mines - the round ones with horns? Such minesweepers have long been of no use to anyone. And modern ones are perfectly capable of detecting all existing types of mines.

[Boa kaa]

Quote: Good evil

And modern ones can clearly see all types of mines that currently exist.

And mine technology isn't standing still. There are "mine protectors." There are decoy mines—with dummies indistinguishable from live barriers. Mines have timer and multiplicity devices. There are remote-controlled mines. Mines that mimic the bottom contours, non-magnetic mines with hydrodynamic combat channel sensors. They can only be "disarmed" with mine breachers. The 270 kg "live weight" of the MK-18 Mod 2 Kingfish, created by hydrodynamic discharge from a submerged wave (and underwater, no less!), is by definition incapable of creating... In short: this is a job that will take months, if not years, provided the mines are updated by aircraft and submarines... They will have to be cleared with explosives.
AHA.

[solar]

Didn't the States, with their pumpkin, think that there could be hundreds of mines hanging out on the bottom of the strait in standby mode?

For modern mine-hunting devices, there's no difference whether they're on standby or armed. They search for the mine body and plant a blasting charge inside.

[solar]

At the same time, it is afraid to send its minesweepers directly into the strait.

Modern minesweepers no longer tow minesweeps. Mine clearing is carried out by autonomous underwater minehunters. They can be mounted on minesweepers or on other ships. The Americans have them on some destroyers.