Last updated: 08 Oct 2021
| Description The mission of the Navy Mining program is develop, procure, maintain and deploy a modern family of sea mines, optimized for potential future military encounters in support of U.S. operations worldwide. | ||||
| Background A sea (or naval) mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Mines provide a low-cost battle-space shaping and force protection capability. Mines can be used to deny an enemy access to specific areas or channelize the enemy into specific areas. Sea mines have been used by the U.S. Navy since the Revolutionary War. Mines have been used with significant effect in the Civil War and both World Wars. The most effective use of mines by the United States was against the Japanese Empire in World War II. U.S. aircraft laid over 12,000 mines in Japanese shipping routes and harbor approaches, sinking 650 Japanese ships and totally disrupting all of their maritime shipping. The Navy has two types of in-service mines, the Quickstrike mine (Marks 62, 63 and 65) and the Submarine Launched Mobile Mine (SLMM) (Mark 67). The Quickstrike is a family of shallow-water, aircraft-laid mines used against surface and subsurface craft. Quickstrike versions Mark 62 and Mark 63 are converted general purpose, 500-pound and 1,000-pound bombs, respectively. The Mark 65 is a 2,000-pound mine, which utilizes a thin-walled mine case, rather than a bomb body. The SLMM was developed as a submarine deployed mine for use in areas inaccessible for other mine deployment techniques or for covert mining of hostile environments, in order to restrict ship and submarine traffic. The SLMM is a shallow water mine, consisting of a modified MK37 torpedo with a mine target detection device. The Navy mining program has several active developmental programs for mines and mine components.
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Point of Contact
Naval Sea Systems Command
Office of Corporate Communication (SEA 00D)
Washington, D.C. 20376
(202) 781-4123
