The US Navy will decommission its last minesweepers in 2027, and the Pentagon is pinning its hopes on Japan, which has the necessary capabilities, to clear mines in the Strait of Hormuz, the Nikkei newspaper reports, citing its sources.
According to the newspaper, the US Navy has only four minesweepers, which are stationed at the Sasebo naval base on the Japanese island of Kyushu. According to current plans, all of them will be decommissioned by 2027. The minesweepers are expected to be replaced by new multi-purpose coastal defense warships, but these ships will have metal hulls, making them vulnerable to mines. Mine clearance operations in these conditions are expected to be carried out using helicopters and drones, but the real effectiveness of such operations is unknown, the newspaper notes.
Meanwhile, the Japanese navy has 16 minesweepers capable of clearing all types of mines. Nine of them have wooden hulls and seven have plastic, non-magnetic hulls. There are also two floating bases for minesweepers, which will allow autonomous and prolonged mine clearance operations.
In an interview with the Asahi newspaper, Emma Salisbury, a naval expert at the American Institute for Foreign Policy Studies, also confirmed that the Strait of Hormuz could easily be mined by Iranian forces, and the US Navy does not have the capacity to successfully clear this route. At the moment, the expert noted, the United States is relying on the capabilities of other countries, in particular NATO members, for mine clearance. "However, European allies are not willing to send their forces to participate in military operations in the Strait of Hormuz," Salisbury stressed. Meanwhile, the Japanese government has already indicated that it may send its minesweepers there after the end of hostilities.