The UK is preparing to retrofit a Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessel with autonomous underwater drones capable of detecting and neutralising mines in the Strait of Hormuz to help allies get oil flowing again.
The RFA Lyme Bay, a Royal Fleet Auxiliary Bay-class amphibious support vessel, is expected to join a multinational operation alongside allies including the United States and France as part of security efforts.
Sources told The Sunday Times that Britain’s defence secretary John Healey has agreed to draw up plans to send the 580ft-long Bay-class vessel to the region.
The robot mine-hunting system will reduce risk to sailors
The multinational effort focused on securing the Strait of Hormuz would combine traditional mine clearing ships with newer autonomous systems.
Western and allied navies could deploy AI-assisted underwater drones capable of scanning the seabed, identifying naval mines and helping to neutralise them.
Alongside mine countermeasures, warships and aircraft would escort commercial tankers through the narrow waterway, creating protected transit corridors.
The operation would allow faster detection of threats and more sustained surveillance. The aim is to reopen key shipping lanes quickly without exposing crews to the highest-risk areas.
Royal Navy mine countermeasure technology is aimed at “reducing risk to sailors while maintaining continuous clearance operations”, according to defence sources.
The Iranians may still have the upper hand
Mine clearance in contested waters is one of the most dangerous naval tasks, and at its narrowest point the Strait of Hormuz is around 21 miles wide, giving Iran a geographic and strategic advantage.
By combining sea mines, fast attack boats and shore-based missile systems, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy can disrupt traffic quickly and cheaply without matching Western naval power.
Experts say even the advanced autonomous systems would struggle to guarantee full clearance without sustained escort operations.
Mine clearance ships are vulnerable and operate slowly in predictable patterns which means they require air and surface protection throughout.
Military analysts warn that while drones improve safety and detection speed, they do not remove the core challenge: clearing mines in a narrow waterway that sits close to Iranian territory that can be rapidly re-mined or disrupted.
What happens next?
Defence sources describe the aim of multinational operations as creating “safe corridors” through which commercial tankers can pass, even if the wider area remains contested.
The emerging model under discussion would see a support ship such as HMS Lyme Bay acting as a command and control hub, deploying autonomous underwater vehicles to map suspected minefields, with additional remotely operated systems used to neutralise identified threats. Once routes are partially cleared, escorted merchant shipping could then resume through designated transit lanes.
Military analysts are cautious about the idea that autonomous systems alone could reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Could the use of Lyme Bay contradict the UK’s position
UK ministers have framed any such deployment as defensive in nature, arguing that the use of Lyme Bay to clear mines and protect shipping would remain within that role rather than involve any offensive action.
However, Tehran could still view such activity as hostile if it is seen as undermining its leverage over shipping routes. While a direct attack on the UK remains unlikely, analysts warn there is a risk of indirect retaliation against British-linked shipping, assets, or regional bases.
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