Is the U.S. Navy ready to clear sea mines in the Persian Gulf?

## Summary
Middle East conflict Israel strikes Lebanon as Trump is set to deliver a speech on the Iran war Economy How long the Strait of Hormuz stays closed will have major economic implications Mines pose a significant threat to the tankers and other commercial shipping vessels that pass through the Strait. Switching to the LCS Just as Iranian sea mines are again a threat in the Persian Gulf, the Navy is in the midst of retiring its older, wooden-hulled Avenger-class ships that have been used since the 1980s for minesweeping. Middle East Iran opens Strait of Hormuz to some ships amid escalating strikes on Gulf countries But the LCS have suffered from development delays, cost overruns and other problems that have earned them the epithet "little crappy ship" from critics. And it's a big challenge," he acknowledges. "People just need to have strategic and tactical patience." Navy Iran persian gulf Strait of Hormuz Facebook Flipboard Email

## Article Content
World
Is the U.S. Navy ready to clear sea mines in the Persian Gulf?
April 1, 2026
3:54 PM ET
Heard on
All Things Considered
By
Scott Neuman
,
Tom Bowman
Is the U.S. Navy ready to clear sea mines in the Persian Gulf?
Audio will be available later today.
The US Navy's USS Cincinnati littoral combat ship (LCS) arrives for a port call at the Ream Naval base, located in Cambodia's southern coast in Preah Sihanouk province, on January 24, 2026. At least three vessels of the same class have been equipped for mine-clearing operations.
Suy Se/AFP/Getty Images
hide caption
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Suy Se/AFP/Getty Images
In the ongoing war with the United States and Israel, Iran has been threatening to mine the vital Strait of Hormuz, with
reports
suggesting it may have already placed devices in the narrow shipping chokepoint. It has set the stage for a possible complex and risky U.S. Navy operation to reopen the waterway using new mine-clearing technology.
On Tuesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the U.S. was taking steps to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but did not say what measures were being taken. The U.S. Fifth Fleet based in Bahrain has also posted
video
showing strikes against Iran's navy, including what it says are minelaying vessels.
Middle East conflict
Israel strikes Lebanon as Trump is set to deliver a speech on the Iran war
Economy
How long the Strait of Hormuz stays closed will have major economic implications
Mines pose a significant threat to the tankers and other commercial shipping vessels that pass through the Strait. They are also a serious danger to warships. Since World War II, sea mines have caused a disproportionate share of damage to U.S. Navy vessels —
sinking or crippling 15 of them
, more than from all other weapons combined. These incidents include three U.S. warships damaged by sea mines in the Persian Gulf since 1988 that injured dozens of sailors.
Despite the danger, however, mine warfare — which encompasses both the deployment and clearance of naval mines — has received minimal attention and funding from the Navy, overshadowed by higher-profile weapons systems, according to maritime security expert Scott C. Truver.
Funding for mine warfare accounts for "less than 1% of the Navy's total budget," he says. Some people call it a "stepchild of the U.S. Navy," he says.
Switching to the LCS
Just as Iranian sea mines are again a threat in the Persian Gulf, the Navy is in the midst of retiring
its older, wooden-hulled Avenger-class ships
that have been used since the 1980s for minesweeping. They are being replaced by the Independence-class of
Littoral Combat Ships (LCS)
, which rely on unmanned systems and helicopters to find and destroy them.
The U.S. "is investing in uncrewed systems to do this mission instead," according to Bryan Clark, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, a center-right think tank that focuses on national security and defense policy. All the LCS ships have to do is "stand clear of the minefields and then allow their unmanned systems and helicopters to do the locating and mine neutralization," he says.
Middle East
Iran opens Strait of Hormuz to some ships amid escalating strikes on Gulf countries
But the LCS have suffered from development delays, cost overruns and other problems that have earned them the epithet
"little crappy ship"
from critics. A
2022 report
from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) noted "several significant challenges" with the LCS, "including the ship's ability to defend itself if attacked and failure rates of mission-essential equipment."
But whether the Navy's replacement is really ready is an open question. Weeks ago, two Independence-class LCS ships, the USS Santa Barbara and the USS Tulsa — were
in Singapore
." A third, the
USS Canberra
, is equipped with mine-countermeasures packages — but is also in Asia.
Emma Salisbury, a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, says she is "honestly completely baffled" as to why the Navy wouldn't have mine-clearing resources near the Middle East at the start of the conflict. "Having a mine countermeasures capability that is not in theater is not particularly helpful," she says.
NATO allies may be better prepared than the U.S.
Trump has repeatedly called on NATO allies to provide ships to help secure the Strait. On Tuesday, Hegseth chastised other countries, making a veiled reference to Britain in particular, for not doing more.
Those countries have largely declined to help.
Middle East conflict
Iranians debate whether the war is worth it
When it comes to mine clearance, "The U.S. Navy is in a bit of a bind," Salisbury says. She notes that many European nations are better-equipped for this task than the U.S. Poland, for instance, has
more than two dozen
mine-clearing ships in its fleet, and the U.K., France and Turkey also have sizable numbers of such vessels.
And in past decades, the U.S. has turned to these nations for help: In the Gulf War and the Iraq war, Salisbury says, "The U.S. ha

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## Expert Analysis

### Merits
- Middle East conflict Israel strikes Lebanon as Trump is set to deliver a speech on the Iran war Economy How long the Strait of Hormuz stays closed will have major economic implications Mines pose a significant threat to the tankers and other commercial shipping vessels that pass through the Strait.
- A 2022 report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) noted "several significant challenges" with the LCS, "including the ship's ability to defend itself if attacked and failure rates of mission-essential equipment." But whether the Navy's replacement is really ready is an open question.

### Areas for Consideration
- Middle East conflict Israel strikes Lebanon as Trump is set to deliver a speech on the Iran war Economy How long the Strait of Hormuz stays closed will have major economic implications Mines pose a significant threat to the tankers and other commercial shipping vessels that pass through the Strait.
- Switching to the LCS Just as Iranian sea mines are again a threat in the Persian Gulf, the Navy is in the midst of retiring its older, wooden-hulled Avenger-class ships that have been used since the 1980s for minesweeping.
- A 2022 report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) noted "several significant challenges" with the LCS, "including the ship's ability to defend itself if attacked and failure rates of mission-essential equipment." But whether the Navy's replacement is really ready is an open question.

### Implications
- Audio will be available later today.
- Suy Se/AFP/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Suy Se/AFP/Getty Images In the ongoing war with the United States and Israel, Iran has been threatening to mine the vital Strait of Hormuz, with reports suggesting it may have already placed devices in the narrow shipping chokepoint.
- Middle East conflict Israel strikes Lebanon as Trump is set to deliver a speech on the Iran war Economy How long the Strait of Hormuz stays closed will have major economic implications Mines pose a significant threat to the tankers and other commercial shipping vessels that pass through the Strait.
- The U.S. "is investing in uncrewed systems to do this mission instead," according to Bryan Clark, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, a center-right think tank that focuses on national security and defense policy.

### Expert Commentary
This article covers mine, navy, mines topics. Notable strengths include discussion of mine. Areas of concern are also raised. Readability: Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.0. Word count: 1383.