Gibraltar – RFA Lyme Bay departed Gibraltar on May 26, 2026, after being loaded with uncrewed boats, underwater sensors, and autonomous sonar equipment ahead of a potential minehunting mission in the Strait of Hormuz.

The Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessel is being prepared to act as a minehunting mothership, supporting advanced technology designed for maritime threat detection.

The ship is expected to play a central role in any future multinational effort aimed at securing the critical waterway and ensuring freedom of navigation.

Onboard the vessel are more than 100 specialist minehunting personnel from the Royal Navy’s Diving and Threat Exploitation Group and Mine and Threat Exploitation Group.

They will operate the deployed systems and a range of autonomous vessels during the mission.

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