Facing Iran's burgeoning mine threat, the Navy's controversial LCS may be the unexpected solution for crucial mine-hunting missions in vital waterways.
By Kris Osborn, Warrior
The U.S. Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship has been derided for decades for not being survivable enough, not being engineered for great-power, blue-water maritime warfare and not being sufficiently “armed” for major Naval warfare …..so it is not without some measure of irony that the U.S. Navy finds itself in need of LCS mine-countermeasure vessels right now in the Strait of Hormuz.
Sea mines lurk beneath the surface of the ocean with explosive power, often buried in the sea floor, denying enemies entry into combat-critical waterways. They can explode on impact or use sensor technologies for proximity detonation. They are shallow, deep-water, and open ocean weapons that are inexpensive, available and increasingly deployed in critical waters by both rogue nations or great powers.
LCS Vision
Mine clearing in littoral waterways, surveillance in coastal regions and closer-in surface warfare are a few of the specific missions the LCS was created to perform, missions very much in demand right now in the Strait of Hormuz as the U.S. Navy endeavors to find and destroy Iranian mines dispersed throughout the region. The LCS can move quickly through coastal areas with vertical towed array sonar and the ability to launch and recover mine-hunting drones.
The U.S. Navy has Independence-class LCS mine-countermeasure ships based in the Middle East, yet multiple reports are now suggesting they are in Asia, a scenario which means the U.S. Navy could currently be insufficiently equipped to address the Iranian mine threat.
U.S. Navy Counter-Mine Tech
Despite the disappearance of the Avenger-class and the far-away LCS, the U.S. Navy does have some mine-detection capabilities it could deploy quickly if needed. Marine Expeditionary Units and amphibious assault ships such as the one headed to the Middle East at the moment, could deploy small Unmanned Surface Vehicles able to scan the water column for mines with towed sonar arrays. Several of the U.S. Navy’s platforms could launch undersea drones as well, many of which are configured to identify and detonate mines from beneath the surface of the ocean.
Drones & Lasers
The U.S. Navy operates a wide-range of undersea drones capable of searching for mines. Raytheon’s Barracuda, for example, is engineered to search for mines, use an undersea wireless signal to “verify” a mine target before independently detonating as an explosive to destroy the mine. The Barracuda combines sonar, an RF antenna, an acousting modem, an Electro-Optical/Infrared camera and a highly specialized explosive.
The U.S. Navy can also deploy its helicopter-integrated Airborne Laser Mine Detection System (ALMSD) which uses laser technology to scan the water column and send reelected images to a helicopter command station able to identify hidden mines. Instead of using more narrowly configured, mechanized or towed mine detection systems, ALMDS massively expands the surface area from which mine detection takes place. Naturally, this enables shallow-water warships such as the LCS have a much safer sphere of operations as commanders will have much greater advanced warning of mine-cluttered areas.
The ALMDS pod is mechanically attached to the MH-60S with a standard Bomb Rack Unit 14 mount and electrically via a primary and auxiliary umbilical cable to the operator console,
Having this ALMDS technology operational, it seems, offers a few new strategic nuances. First and foremost, detecting mines more quickly and at further ranges of course makes the LCS much more survivable. It will be able to pursue attack, anti-submarine and reconnaissance missions with a much lower risk of mine-attack. Furthermore, identifying the location of mines at greater distances brings the added advantage of enabling lower-risk small boat missions to approach target areas for shore missions, surface attack or recon.
LCS Reborn
Given all this, the grim reaper may have arrived too early for the LCS, at least to some extent, as the ship has not only been made more lethal and survivable but designed to meet certain key requirements for surveillance, countermine measures, manned-unmanned teaming and coastal or closer-in reconnaissance, patrol, drone operations and mine-clearing. Regarding coastal surveillance, the LCS has had the ability to reach critical, high-risk waters impossible for deeper draft ships to operate in.
This can bring the ability to find and destroy mines, access ports unreachable by deep-draft ship, launch drones and perform littoral reconnaissance closer to enemy coastline.The LCS has also been able to launch and recover drones and helicopters all while still launching anti-submarine, surface warfare and countermine mission packets, or suites of technology specifically engineered to integrate with ship-based command and control. LCS mission packages have also shown promise as they integrate otherwise disparate systems in a networked and coordinated way for submarine hunting, coastal enemy engagement and shoreline reconnaissance.
Kris Osborn is President of Warrior Maven – Center for Military Modernization. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a highly qualified expert in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Masters Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University.