U.S. Naval Mine Warfare Strategy: Analysis of the Way Ahead
Abstract
The history of naval mine warfare in wars and conflicts has taught the United States Navy many valuable lessons. Unfortunately, many of these lessons learned have, for the most part, been painfully relearned in successive wars and conflicts. Compared to more glamorous naval mission areas such as strike warfare, mine warfare has usually been under funded and had difficulty maintaining momentum toward improving fleet capabilities in this vital mission area. Sea mines today remain a serious threat to U.S. strategic interests in key regions of the world. The United States Navy today is embarked on an ambitious plan to improve and transform its mine countermeasures capabilities. This paper discusses common themes and lessons learned in past wars and conflicts, depicts the current mine threat, discusses current force structure, analyzes the Chief of Naval Operations Sea Power 21 vision for improving long term mine warfare capabilities and provides recommendations for improving near term readiness.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 07, 2003
- Accession Number
- ADA414973
Entities
People
- Gregory J. Cornish
Organizations
- United States Army War College