APRIL 25, 2026
US Navy hunts for Iranian mines in Strait of Hormuz using drones and legacy ships as reopening timeline stretches to months
The U.S. Navy has begun mine-clearing operations in the Strait of Hormuz following Iranian mining threats to a waterway that carries roughly 20% of the world's oil. Pentagon officials told lawmakers the effort could take as long as six months, according to reporting by both Fox News and the Associated Press. Two Avenger-class minesweepers based in Japan have departed for the Middle East, and two littoral combat ships capable of mine-sweeping are already in the region.
President Donald Trump announced on social media Thursday that the Navy's minesweepers are "clearing the Strait right now" and ordered operations to continue "at a tripled up level." Trump also said he has ordered the Navy to attack any boat laying mines in the strait. The U.S. has simultaneously imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports, seized ships tied to Tehran, and planned a second round of ceasefire talks in Pakistan.
The mine-clearing operation is unfolding at a moment of reduced Navy capacity for that specific mission. The service retired its four Bahrain-based minesweepers last year, ending a decades-long dedicated presence of mine-hunting ships in the Middle East. Bryan Clark, a defense analyst at the Hudson Institute, described the current moment to Fox News Digital as "a nadir of the Navy's mine sweeping capacity." Retired Vice Adm. Kevin Donegan, former commander of the Navy's 5th Fleet, said the retirement of the minesweepers was never a major concern to him because newer unmanned technology had been developed to replace them, though Clark noted the Navy still has a limited number of those newer systems available for large-scale operations.
The operation begins with waves of unmanned underwater vehicles — some torpedo-shaped — deployed in grid patterns to map the ocean floor using high-resolution sonar. Surface drones tow sonar systems through narrow lanes while helicopters scan closer to the surface. Once a mine is located, remotely operated systems are used to detonate or neutralize it, after which explosive ordnance disposal personnel must retrieve remaining debris. "The mine neutralization part is really the long leg of the process," Clark said. Clark said war-gaming suggests the finding phase could be completed within weeks, but full clearance of shipping lanes could extend operations into months.