The rapid increase in the proliferation of sea mines since the Persian Gulf war highlights the need for such a concept of operations. We must ensure timely and effective response to potential mine threats to enable Joint operations. An essential supporting warfare capability that is integral to the ability of naval forces to effectively shape and dominate the battlespace is mine countermeasures. Mine countermeasures includes not only clearing mines, but also identifying where they are not. Additionally, mines can be eliminated at the source by eliminating mine stockpiles, obstructing mine movement to mine laying platforms, or elimination of the laying platforms themselves.
Mines are inexpensive weapons which are highly effective in the littoral environment.
Mines are the single most-attractive weapon available to third world nations for the purpose of preventing U. S. naval forces from shaping the battlespace, attaining battlespace dominance, and projecting power from the sea. To deal with this likely threat, naval forces require a viable concept of operations for mine countermeasures. Mine countermeasure operations must begin during peacetime with actions to baseline relevant environmental data and intelligence information on mining capabilities. As tensions increase, focused surveillance operations provide updates to databases developed during peacetime. As tensions escalate further, naval forces utilizing organic mine countermeasure capabilities can avoid operating in mined waters during their initial efforts to shape the battlespace.