Mine Development

The Mine Development program, part of the Navy's Research, Development, Test & Evaluation efforts, focuses on enhancing naval mine capabilities to secure and control vital sea areas. The primary goal is to develop advanced mine systems that can deter or damage adversary shipping, thereby disrupting their operations and safeguarding friendly forces. This program includes projects like Quickstrike MOD 3, Quickstrike-Extended Range (ER), and Clandestine Delivered Mine (CDM) MK68. These projects aim to improve the effectiveness of existing mines against modern threats through technological advancements such as programmable Target Detection Devices and GPS-guidance systems.

Project 0267, known as Mine Improvements, emphasizes upgrading naval mines to address new threat targets in major regional conflicts and great power competition. The objectives include enhancing the Quickstrike series with improved target detection algorithms and precision placement capabilities to reduce risks to delivery aircraft. Additionally, the Clandestine Delivered Mine project seeks to adapt legacy mining systems for deployment via unmanned platforms like Extra Large Unmanned Undersea Vehicles (XLUUV), incorporating command and control enhancements for increased operational flexibility.

The Encapsulated Effector project, also known as Hammerhead, aims to extend maritime mining capabilities into deeper waters by utilizing modern sensing and processing technologies. This initiative focuses on developing a self-contained weapon system capable of engaging targets over a wide area with fewer resources than traditional mines. The project leverages existing kinetic payloads and incorporates future naval capability developments managed by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) to enhance system performance through incremental updates.

These projects within the Mine Development program are designed to maintain naval superiority by advancing mine technology and deployment strategies. They involve significant collaboration with various Navy warfare centers and contractors to ensure that the systems meet evolving operational requirements while optimizing production processes for future scalability.