Rigorous assessment needs to make a comeback, and mine countermeasures is a good place to start.
The introduction of a slew of new mine countermeasures (MCM) platforms and systems over the next several years will pose challenges for the U.S. Navy as it analyzes the effectiveness of its MCM force and makes decisions based on the early performance of these systems. The Navy must balance cutting costs with requirements for new systems to counter both traditional and emerging threats. A strong response to these challenges would include returning to a model of the fleet-led testing and analysis that served the Navy well for much of the 20th century.
