Ambush! The Navy’s New Hammerhead Mine Is a Sub Destroyer

The U.S. Navy is developing a new sea mine to make the lives of enemy submarines in wartime a lot trickier. The new Hammerhead mine is designed to lie in wait on the seabed floor, listening for the telltale signs of enemy submarines. Once a foe passes over, Hammerhead unleashes a homing torpedo that hunts down and destroys the offending sub.

Laid in the path of enemy ships, sea mines can slow passage through vital areas or deny transit entirely. Sea mines are also difficult to detect, and the underwater explosions caused by their detonation can cause serious, sometimes fatal damage to a ship’s hull.