Britain is considering deploying autonomous mine-hunting drones already positioned in the Middle East to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, after Donald Trump called on allies to send naval vessels to the region.
The US President urged the UK and other nations on Saturday to help secure the waterway, through which a fifth of the world’s oil ordinarily passes. Iran has effectively closed the Strait since the outbreak of conflict with the United States, pushing up energy prices across the globe.
Cabinet minister Ed Miliband confirmed on Sunday that “autonomous mine-hunting equipment” was among the options the Government was “obviously looking at”, saying it was “in all of our interests to get the strait reopened”.
A second option – sending thousands of aerial interceptor drones originally developed for Ukraine – is also under consideration, though at an earlier stage.
Why the Strait of Hormuz matters
The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow waterway connecting the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman, through which around 20 per cent of the world’s oil passes every day.
Iran has moved to blockade the passage since the outbreak of conflict with the United States and has targeted several tankers, stemming the flow of oil from the Middle East, disrupting global trade and pushing up energy prices internationally.
Smoke rising from the Thai bulk carrier ‘Mayuree Naree’ near the Strait of Hormuz after an attack (Photo: Royal Thai Navy/AFP/Getty)There are concerns that Iran has also laid mines in the strait to frustrate shipping. Tehran is thought to hold more than 5,000 naval mines in total, according to a US Defence Intelligence Agency assessment..
What systems does the UK have in the region?
The Royal Navy already has autonomous mine-hunting systems in operation in the region.
The primary system currently deployed is Project Wilton, operated by the Mine and Threat Exploitation Group’s Zulu Squadron, which uses autonomous mine-hunting systems and underwater vehicles to detect mines.
It uses uncrewed surface vessels and Iver4 autonomous underwater vehicles – slim, torpedo-shaped drones roughly two metres long – to scan the seabed and map the location of potential mines at depths of nearly 1,000ft.
The underwater drones can operate for hours at a time at depths of nearly 1,000ft and are used for mine-hunting operations and for scanning routes for safety.
A spokesperson for the Royal Navy confirmed previously to The i Paper that the UK has underwater drones in operation currently in the region. These drones, however, are for hunting mines rather than disabling them.
The Royal Navy’s last crewed minehunter, HMS Middleton, departed Bahrain in January 2026 and returned to the UK on 1 March, days before the conflict with Iran broke out. HMS Middleton was used as part of the UK’s long-running naval mission in the region, Operation Kipion.
Overall, the UK has seven minehunter vessels, four of which are unavailable. At the same time, three remain to protect UK waters and to ensure the passage of submarines in and out of the Faslane port in Scotland.
Rear Admiral Neil Morisetti, who captained British warships protecting oil tankers through the strait during the Iran-Iraq war, told The Sunday Times the decision to bring back the HMS Middleton “wasn’t terribly bright.”
How mine-hunting works
The UK’s mine-hunting capability is an integrated system with three distinct stages.
Detection comes first. Uncrewed surface vessels tow sonar arrays while Iver4 drones map the seafloor independently, with AI tools processing the data to identify potential mines.
The second stage targets mines triggered by a vessel’s magnetic, acoustic or electric signature rather than direct contact.
The Royal Navy’s SWEEP system uses uncrewed vessels to mimic those signals, tricking mines into detonating safely.
The Royal Navy adopted SWEEP in July 2025 and has been trialled in the Gulf, but it is not permanently stationed there. It is among the systems thought to be considered for additional deployment.
The final stage is neutralisation: a remotely operated underwater vehicle is sent to destroy confirmed mines using a small explosive charge, with operators at a safe distance throughout.
What are Octopus drones?
Despite being named after a sea creature, Octopus drones are aerial interceptor systems, not mine-hunters.
Developed by Ukrainian engineers to counter Russia’s Shahed suicide drones – the same Iranian-designed munitions used to attack UK and US military bases since the start of the conflict – they work by ramming incoming drones out of the sky using AI image recognition to track their target.
In January, John Healey, the Defence Secretary, announced that production had begun in Britain, with output expected to reach thousands of units per month. At around £2,260 per unit – less than a tenth of the cost of the drones they destroy, according to the MoD – they are far cheaper than conventional air-defence missiles.
The Telegraph reported on Sunday that MoD officials are examining whether they could be deployed to the Middle East to counter Iranian Shahed drones. The option is understood to be at an early stage and Ukraine remains the primary intended recipient.
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