The Independence class LCS USS Canberra, in front, sails together with the M/V Seaway Hawk carrying the decommissioned Avenger class on January 20, 2026. USN
The War Zone reports, “U.S. Navy Minesweepers Assigned To Middle East Have Been Moved To Pacific.”
It remains to be seen how long the USS Tulsa and USS Santa Barbara will remain in Malaysia, and where they might sail after they depart. Where USS Canberra is currently is still unknown, as is whether any additional mine countermeasures configured ships are on the way to the Middle East.
For the moment, at least, a substantial portion of the Navy’s minesweeping capacity in the region, amid a major conflict with an opponent experienced in mine warfare, is now thousands of miles away in a completely different part of the world.
They also report continued difficulty with the mine countermeasures systems being used on Independence class Littoral Combat Ships.
With plans to begin escorting merchant ships through the Straits of Hormuz I expect the six Webber class WPCs will have a role, but I also expected these ships to have a role as well, perhaps providing close escort to high priority vessels given their RAM missile launchers and 57mm Mk110 gun mounts.
PACIFIC OCEAN (May, 12, 2022) – An AGM-114L Longbow Hellfire missile launches from the Surface-To-Surface Missile Module (SSMM) aboard Independence-variant Littoral Combat Ship USS Montgomery (LCS 8). The missile exercise was the first proof of concept launch of the Longbow Hellfire missile against land-based target. (U.S. Navy photo by Lt.j.g. Samuel Hardgrove)
They may also have vertical launch Hellfire, which has proven effective against both low altitude subsonic air and surface targets.
Gun Mission Module by Northrop Grumman
They do not seem to have been equipped with the 30mm Mk 46 mounts, which would be useful against both unscrewed surface and air attack systems.
Helicopters operating from these ships could also be effective against several threats.
I suppose they may be being reequipped for the escort role.
Chuck Hill's CG Blog 
Inside Malaysia’s EEZ lies a vast LNG field which the PRC is also claiming as being their EEZ! It’s gotten to the point where the PRC is considering laying sea mines to protect their “so called” national interests…
I don’t think the Independence-class LCSs ever had 30mm autocannons fitted to them, or at least I can’t find any photos showing this.
I would mount something else in those Mission Modules then, such as Anduril’s Roadrunner-Ms VTOL C-UAS drones or Arnold Defense’s 23-shot MLHS APKWS II launchers instead of just leaving them empty.
There is so much more the US Navy and NAVSEA can do that makes me wonder how cash-strapped the US Navy really is each and every fiscal year (as proven with Continuing Resolutions for many years).
They have had the mk 46s mounted before. The problem is the ships are designed for one module and we really always needed ASuW module as standard with the ship.
I’d bash the LCS, but it’s really the admiralty that’s the problem- over 300 admirals, and no one has been publically punished or fired for the concurrency debacle which continues to styme almost 30 years of USN shipbuilding.
Andrew
The Little Crappy Ships (LCS) can barely defend themselves, and this article thinks they can provide “close escort to high priority vessels”? Well, I suppose the Little Crappy Ships themselves are expendable, but I wouldn’t want to subject their crews to the danger. Maybe the Navy should convert the LCS to unmanned surface vehicles.
We would also need some more distant escorts, but you should recognize the LCS are considerably better armed than the merchant ships. They are also considerably better armed than the cutters or the minesweepers that they are replacing. Not everything can or should be a battleship.
They moved on from Malaysia to Singapore.
https://www.twz.com/sea/u-s-navy-minesweepers-stationed-in-middle-east-are-now-in-singapore