From the non-magnetic fibreglass hull to the sonar, all the features of Italian minesweepers

Thanks to the availability of non-magnetic, silent and bubble-crushing self-contained breathing apparatus, divers can operate against any type of naval mine (including for neutralisation and operational information gathering). On the basis of their systems, the minesweepers are able to search and explore the seabed beyond 1,000 metres, identify, by means of optical sensors, objects on the seabed up to an operational altitude of more than 600 metres, and carry out explosive ordnance clearance.

The Navy's mine hunters are equipped with a non-magnetic fibreglass hull, which is more resistant than traditional wooden hulls and, above all, able to inhibit magnetic mine sensors. The propulsion system of the minesweepers is also designed to reduce acoustics as much as possible: during the conduct and detection of mines, the engines and other equipment are acoustically isolated in order to inhibit the acoustic sensors of the minesweepers.

In addition to de-mining the waterways, the Navy's minesweepers can conduct convoy guidance along a previously cleared channel, with a width of approximately 600 metres, with the aim of keeping the convoy on the axis of the channel and, where suspicious objects are identified on the passageway through the previously described sensors, guide the convoy itself so as to avoid passing over the area at risk.

In addition, the minesweepers carry out continuous support activities for the GOS divers' units for the removal and blasting of World War II ordnance (an average of 15 ordnance per year).

A possible intervention in Hormuz should not only involve Italia, but a coalition of countries. News has just reached us that, with a view to a possible deployment to secure the Strait, the German Navy minesweeper 'Fulda' will depart from the Kiel-Wik naval base bound for the Mediterranean.

According to the German Ministry of Defence, the deployment represents a preliminary positioning measure. The deployment in the Strait of Hormuz requires a mandate from the Bundestag. Should parliamentarians give the green light, the ship would then be closer to its final destination.

The Fulda will be withdrawn from the NATO mission in the North Sea and Baltic Sea and initially integrated into a NATO group for mine countermeasures in the Mediterranean.

The German Defence Minister, Boris Pistorius, had already announced the deployment. A spokeswoman for the ministry explained that the 'early deployment' would 'save valuable time to quickly deploy the mine fighter capabilities of the 'Fulda', which are highly valued within the alliance, once the conditions set by the federal government have been met'. Time is thus a major factor in the game for the reopening of the Strait.

Indeed, one fifth of the world's oil passes through this waterway.

Meanwhile, the United States launched the Operation "Project Freedom" to unblock maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz and ensure the passage of commercial ships, but the initiative announced by President, Donald Trump, immediately met with a harsh reaction from Iran, which said it had prevented the entry of US naval units and attacks against American ships, while strong operational and security criticalities remain in a theatre where the tug-of-war between Tehran and Washington has been going on for weeks.

The United States Central Command (Centcom) announced on X that military support for the operation will include 'missile launchers, over 100 aircraft, multi-domain platforms', both air and sea, for surveillance, reconnaissance or rapid threat intervention, and '15,000 military personnel'.