A good read, the above document, thank you.
Going back to what was written upthread about the extensive area that any mine clearing operation might have to be able to work through, even if under threat, the document makes a point of what has been done and what could be done:
"it is important to use realistic assumptions, especially for the depth of the minefield. 50nm is representative of a mid-sized minefield; comparable to mining within the length of a strategic choke point such as the Straits of Gibraltar, the Dardanelles or the width of the Gulf of Finland, or a defensive minefield laid in the approaches to a port.
A deeper minefield (>100nm), such as one that would deny the Straits of Hormuz..."
Hence the best a single frigate can do is to provide a local-area air defence bubble for, say, 4 MCM vessels with their semi-autonomous little helpers working through such a minefield.
And to fend off, say, a swarm of boats of fibre-glass construction that can confidently approach over the yet-to-be cleared minefields - as they happen to know the types of mines in a given zone - we will need something like
The helo (1; and not always available) from the frigate can, sure, have loadsa nice little missiles to help to deal with a serious swarm of boghammers or the like.
Ever-lasting truths: Multi-year budgets/ planning by necessity have to address the painful questions; more often than not the Either-Or prevails over Both-And.
If everyone is thinking the same, then someone is not thinking (attributed to Patton)