9 votes

“We are essentially the ships that the Navy forgot”: As tensions heat up in the Persian Gulf, the US Navy’s minesweeping fleet may be too old and broken to do their job

Posted by spit-evil-olive-tips
Tags: usa, military, navy, persian gulf, weapons, ships, minesweepers, maritime, oceans, author.robert faturechi, author.megan rose, author.t christian miller, source.propublica
https://www.propublica.org/article/iran-has-hundreds-of-naval-mines-us-navy-minesweepers-find-old-dishwashers-car-parts#165859

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Title
Iran Has Hundreds of Naval Mines. U.S. Navy Minesweepers Find Old Dishwashers and Car Parts. - ProPublica
Authors
Robert Faturechi,Megan Rose,T. Christian Miller
Published
Aug 5 2019
Word count
2592 words

4 comments

  1. [4]
    vakieh
    Link
    Mines sound more like a problem for drones to solve. You don't even need to 'sweep' for them really, just have a drone fly/swim into it head first and blow it up. Much cheaper than ships, and much...

    Mines sound more like a problem for drones to solve. You don't even need to 'sweep' for them really, just have a drone fly/swim into it head first and blow it up. Much cheaper than ships, and much harder to stop, since they can even operate during hostilities where traditional minesweeping ships can't (very easily).

    With the amount of money being thrown at the US military industrial complex I wouldn't believe a single syllable of 'we haven't been updated enough'. There's an updated moneysink out there that some suit from Thales or whoever has developed to take advantage. They even mention drones in the article, but keep the focus on ships that are quite obviously obsolete.

    1. [3]
      Ephemere
      Link Parent
      Just an off the cuff reaction, but it seems like an autonomous drone would be much expensive than a mine, making this a good trade for the minelayer. I also have little trouble believing that...

      Just an off the cuff reaction, but it seems like an autonomous drone would be much expensive than a mine, making this a good trade for the minelayer.

      I also have little trouble believing that select parts of the military are starving while others are drowning in cash. If memory serves there were a bunch of articles about the shameful antiquity and neglect in missile command a few years ago. Given that minesweepers haven’t been used in war in decades, it seems plausible that they would be a very low priority to the admiralty.

      10 votes
      1. [2]
        vakieh
        Link Parent
        The US will quite happily spend a $1.4 million dollar missile to take out a single person in a wood and thatch hut, their idea of asymmetric warfare is that if they have to wage it then by god...

        The US will quite happily spend a $1.4 million dollar missile to take out a single person in a wood and thatch hut, their idea of asymmetric warfare is that if they have to wage it then by god they'll make it the most asymmetric war that was ever fought.

        Too bad about the healthcare etc they give up instead of course.

        6 votes
        1. sqew
          Link Parent
          This is by far the best thing I've read today. Simultaneously true and hilariously worded. Kudos to you @vakieh.

          their idea of asymmetric warfare is that if they have to wage it then by god they'll make it the most asymmetric war that was ever fought.

          This is by far the best thing I've read today. Simultaneously true and hilariously worded. Kudos to you @vakieh.

          1 vote