Robot vessels take over the dangerous work of hunting sea mines

Autonomous systems run from shore could cut crew numbers sharply, but their value depends on being linked into one networked fleet.

Robotic systems are increasingly taking over the dangerous job of hunting sea mines, which matters because mines are cheap to deploy yet can halt tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz on their own. Navies have long used specialist minehunters crewed by around 80 sailors, but autonomous vehicles monitored from shore can do the work with roughly 20 personnel working in shifts, a practical advantage given Nato's recruitment and retention problems. The technology has been in development for two decades, starting with the US Navy's torpedo-shaped Remus 100 used during the 2003 Iraq war. In the current Gulf conflict, Iranian forces recovered an uncrewed US underwater vehicle from Anduril in early September, which the Pentagon said was an older malfunctioning device carrying no classified equipment. A Thales-built surface vehicle with sonar and AI-based seabed imaging is being developed with the Royal Navy and France's Marine Nationale, and experts stress that the robots only matter when integrated into a shared, networked fleet. Lloyd's of London notes that uncertainty over how many mines remain keeps the threat alive, while the US says the Omani route is cleared and shipments are running at about 75% of pre-conflict levels.