The Navy hopes to replace the divers with fast and efficient unmanned underwater vehicles. In this case, sending a robot to do a man's job is a very good thing. They can be made cheaply, produced in massive quantities, planted in near secrecy, destroy with lethal accuracy, and can be left completely unattended. These factors make sea mines an attractive part of a defense program. They also tend to have a long life.
Sea mines located in shallow waters prove to be the trickiest to locate.
Wired News delivered to your inbox or hand-held device. They are big metal balls with spikes. Despite the basic technology sea mines are very good at their job. Currently there are two methods for detecting them. The first involves a ship equipped with sonar, the second a helicopter dragging sonar in the ocean.