According to information published by the U.S. Navy on July 9, 2020, Royal Saudi Naval Forces (RSNF), Royal Navy and U.S. Navy forces participated in mine countermeasures (MCM) interoperability training in the Arabian Gulf June 6-21, 2020.
According to information published by the U.S. Navy on July 9, 2020, Royal Saudi Naval Forces (RSNF), Royal Navy and U.S. Navy forces participated in mine countermeasures (MCM) interoperability training in the Arabian Gulf June 6-21, 2020.
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Ships from Saudi Arabia, the U.K, and U.S. sail in formation during a mine countermeasures interoperability exercise in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations. (Picture source U.S. Navy)
U.S. Navy mine countermeasures ships (MCMs) operated alongside mine countermeasures vessels (MCMV) from the Royal Navy and RSNF.
The training consisted of realistic mine hunting simulations where participating units practiced detecting and classifying training aids shaped like mines while following standardized mine hunting procedures.
Participating ships included U.S. Navy MCMs USS Dextrous (MCM 13) and USS Gladiator (MCM 11), UK Royal Navy MCMV HMS Brocklesby (M 33) and RSNF MCMV HMS Al-Shaqra (422).
USS Dextrous (MCM-13) and USS Gladiator (MCM 11) are Avenger-class mine countermeasures ship in the United States Navy. Avenger-class mine countermeasures ships are a class of 14 ships constructed for the United States Navy from 1987 to 1994, designed to clear mines from vital waterways. The ships have the hull designator MCM.
The HMS Brocklesby is a Hunt-class mine countermeasures vessel of the British Royal Navy. The Hunt class is a class of thirteen mine countermeasure vessels of the Royal Navy. As built, they combined the separate roles of the traditional minesweeper and that of the active minehunter in one hull, but later modifications saw the removal of mine-sweeping equipment. They have a secondary role as offshore patrol vessels.
The HMS Al-Shaqra (422) is a Sandown-class minehunter in service with the Royal Saudi Navy. Three Sandown minehunters were built by British shipbuilding Vosper Thorneycroft firm for the Royal Saudi Naval Forces under the Al Yamamah program, commissioning in 1991-97. The Sandown Class is equipped with two underwater PAP 104 mk5 remote-controlled mine-disposal vehicles, supplied by Societe ECA. The vehicle is controlled via a 2,000m fibre-optic cable. A lighting system, low light level black and white camera and a color camera are fitted. The vehicle is also fitted with a high-resolution sonar. The sensor data is transmitted back to the operations control centre on the ship.
