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NAVAL FORCES takes a look at promising concepts to counter the mine threat - a highly cost-effective weapon appealing to many opponents, especially those who cannot expect to be able to match major Navies. We have therefore asked two companies involved in the development of stateof-art mine counter measures (MCM) programmes to explain their approaches to counter modern mines. In Part I, Mike Docherty of THALES Underwater Systems (TUS) looks at the modern mine threat and describes the TSM 2022 Mk III Sonar System developed by former Thomson Sintra/Thomson Marconi Sonar to be used in hull-mounted and propelled variable depth operation. This is followed by Part II, where Dr. Dieter Kraus and Frank Scherweit of STN ATLAS Elektronik describe the MJ 2000 project being proposed for the German Navy, which uses innovative drones with advanced sonar technologies against buried mines, as well as a follow-up system for mine neutralisation.
TSM 2022 MK III IN HULL-MOUNTED AND PROPELLED VARIABLE DEPTH OPERATION
THE MINE THREAT
The sea mine first became established as a weapon during World War I and had the effect of changing sea-warfare for all time. Since the early 1900's the mine threat has developed rapidly and in many of the subsequent conflicts has accounted for more ships sunk or damaged than any other weapon. As an example, during World War 2, the Allies lost 650 ships as a result of sea mines, whilst in the Gulf War the USS "Samuel B. Roberts", USS "Tripoli" and USS "Princeton" were all severely damaged by mines. In these latter instances, damage to the USS "Samuel B. Roberts" and USS "Tripoli" was caused by a simple contact mine costing less than $2K. The cost of repair to these ships, not including out-of-operation time, ran to many millions of dollars. The sea-mine, then, can be considered as one of, if not the most cost effective weapons in any anti-ship/ antisubmarine inventory.
The evolution of the mine over the years has resulted in two primary categories of deterrent, moored mines and ground mines. Moored mines can be either simple contact mines, deployed a few metres below the surface, or of a more sophisticated type, the influence mine, which is deployed in deep water and poses a threat to both surface...