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The Ardent was commissioned
on Feb 18. 1994 at Naval Station Ingleside in Texas.
The mission of the ARDENT (MCM 12) is to clear the ocean bottom and water volume of anti-ship mines. A combination of stealth, endurance, and the latest mine countermeasures technology allows the Ardent to conduct sustained, full-spectrum, mine countermeasures operations in the world’s critical maritime regions. Specific advantages and capabilities include the ship’s low magnetic signature diesel engines and wooden hull, which reduce the ship’s vulnerability to
magnetic-influence mines; a precise navigation system, which allows the ship to find, plot,
and report suspected mines with great accuracy; a high frequency sonar,
used to locate and classify mines; three minesweeping systems (mechanical, acoustic,
magnetic), used to destroy mines; two rigid hulled inflatable boats (RHIBs),
used to carry divers and mark suspected mines; and a remotely controlled
mine neutralization system used to identify suspected mines and destroy them
with explosive charges. A product of intense research and unique construction,
the ARDENT plays a vital role in Middle East enduring
objective to maintain uninterrupted access to the world’s strategic waterways.
The
ship is powered by diesel engines that drive two controllable, reversible
pitch propellers. It features a glass- reinforced, plastic-sheathed wooden hull and degaussing
system in order to maintain a very low magnetic signature. Ardent
is 224 feet in length, has a beam of 39 feet
and displaces approximately 1,320 tons fully loaded. The ship will
carry a crew of six officers and 76 enlisted personnel.
The ship
forward deployed to the Persian Gulf in March 1996. She was
transported to the Gulf via commercial heavy- lift vessel Sea Swift
in order to prolong the engine life of the ship and reduce
her transit time from 60 days (under her own power) to
30 days. The 83-man crew was flown from Ingleside to join
the ship in late March. She is manned by four
rotational crews from other MCMs that remain based in Ingleside.
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