U.S. Navy Destroyers Begin Mine-Clearing Operation in Strait of Hormuz as CENTCOM Deploys Underwater Drones

U.S. Central Command confirmed on April 11, 2026 that two U.S. Navy destroyers — the USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. (DDG-121) and the USS Michael Murphy (DDG-112) — transited the Strait of Hormuz and began "setting conditions for clearing mines" in the strategic waterway, marking the opening of a formal mine countermeasures (MCM) operation in the most critical energy chokepoint on the planet. CENTCOM stated that additional U.S. forces including underwater drones would be joining the operation in the coming days.

The operation comes directly in response to U.S. officials' disclosure — reported by The New York Times on April 10 — that Iran cannot locate or remove all of the naval mines it deployed in the strait because the U.S. destroyed 16 of Iran's minelaying vessels on March 10, eliminating Iran's primary organic capability to track and recover its own munitions. Iran's IRGC Navy subsequently released an alternative routing map for ships attempting to transit the strait, implicitly confirming that active minefields remain in the standard shipping lanes.

The two Arleigh Burke-class destroyers completed their transit mission and withdrew to the Arabian Sea. Neither vessel is a dedicated mine countermeasures platform. The U.S. Navy's two dedicated minesweeping-configured Littoral Combat Ships — USS Tulsa (LCS-16) and USS Santa Barbara (LCS-32), both of which were forward-deployed in Bahrain until recently — were observed in Asian waters when the crisis began and are expected to require transit time before joining the clearance effort. CENTCOM's reference to "underwater drones" likely refers to the AN/AQS-20 mine-hunting sonar systems and Remote Multi-Mission Vehicles (RMMV) that can be deployed from LCS platforms or surface vessels for mine detection and neutralization.

The physical clearance of a mined strait of the Hormuz's dimensions — 21 nautical miles at its narrowest point, with two designated traffic separation scheme lanes — is a complex, time-consuming operation under the best conditions. With an uncertain mine count, degraded Iranian cooperation, no dedicated MCM vessels yet on station, and active IRGC threats against transiting military vessels, maritime security analysts assess that full commercial transit resumption remains weeks away at minimum regardless of the outcome of the Islamabad ceasefire negotiations.

The operation is being conducted in parallel with 15-plus hours of face-to-face U.S.-Iran-Pakistan trilateral talks at the Serena Hotel in Islamabad, which Tasnim News Agency reported were being extended into Sunday after failing to conclude Saturday night. The simultaneity of military mine-clearing operations and diplomatic negotiations reflects the dual-track pressure strategy the Trump administration has maintained throughout the conflict.