Patent ID: 7000546

Claim:
An underwater mine warfare countermeasure system comprising: a water borne vehicle having a relatively flat platform thereon; and magnetic field generating means comprising a plurality of closed loop magnetic coils disposed in substantially horizontal and vertical planes, mounted on said platform for generating a magnetic field pattern beneath said vehicle of sufficient magnitude to extend sufficiently far from said vehicle in all directions to activate a magnetically responsive detonator in a mine while said vehicle remains out of range of the explosive force of the mine, said plurality of coils comprising a first coil oriented substantially in the plane of said platform and following the peripheral edge of said platform, a second coil oriented in a substantially vertical plane substantially perpendicular to the centerline of said vehicle and disposed adjacent the forward end of said vehicle, a third coil oriented in a substantially vertical plane substantially parallel to the plane of said second coil and located substantially at the midpoint of said vehicle, and a fourth coil oriented substantially in a vertical plane substantially parallel to the planes of said second and third coils and located adjacent the rear end of said vehicle.