Google shows mine clearance drones:
Laid-up
Mine Clearance Drones
Revealed by Satellite
Satellite photos from Google
Earth reveal the four vessels neatly laid-up at the Danish Navy’s depot.
Satellite photo from Google Earth clearly show
the four
laid-up mine clearance drones.
(Photo:
Google Earth)
Click to enlarge
By Johnny E. Balsved
In April of last year navalhistory.dk reported the
curious story of the six
MRD
Class mine clearance drones. Four have been
stripped of their equipment and laid up at the Danish Navy's depot at Jerup in
Vendsyssel (Northern Jutland) for a number of years.
Back then it was not possible to obtain a
photograph of the vessels laid-up in the middle of a forest, but now satellite
photos from Google Earth clearly show the four vessels neatly laid-up at the
Danish Navy's depot.
Uncertain future
So far there has been no official announcement on
what is to happen to the six mine clearing units that comprise the
MRD
Class,
of which five have been stripped of equipment and laid up (as mentioned in a
previous article on this website).
The drones are officially still in service with
the Danish Navy, but apart from
MRD4, none of them have been ready for service
for several years.
Two new
HOLM-class mine clearance drones,
HIRSHOLM and the as yet unnamed
MSD6, are due to enter service. MSD6 is due
to be named in March 2008, and thereafter it's expected both vessels will become
operative.
It's intended these two new vessels will replace
the six
MRD
Class vessels, which will subsequently probably be scrapped,
sources revealed to navalhistory.dk.
One of the total of six mine clearance vessels,
MRD4, seen here
at Korsør Naval Base in 2005.
(Photo: Johnny E. Balsved)
Translated by
Alan Russel
(April 6, 2008)
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