Overview
- RFA Lyme Bay will be fitted in Gibraltar with modular uncrewed mine countermeasure kits so it can launch and recover underwater drones and crewless minehunting boats.
- The ship is being readied as a forward base to detect, identify and neutralize mines, giving ministers a contingency to support any effort to reopen the Strait of Hormuz if required.
- Officials have drawn up options for possible deployment, but no decision has been announced and any mission would hinge on threat levels and the availability of air and surface escorts.
- The package draws on years of trials with plug‑and‑play control centers, REMUS‑class underwater vehicles, remotely operated vehicles and minesweeping boats that tow coils to trigger seabed mines.
- First Sea Lord Gen. Sir Gwyn Jenkins called the move part of a “hybrid navy,” while analysts warn Iran could see clearance operations as hostile and that sustained protection would be essential for slow, predictable minehunting work.