MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopter in a hover.

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Airborne Mine Countermeasures

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Welcome to the Airborne Mine Countermeasures (AMCM) Website.   HELMINERON (HELicopter MINE Countermeasures SquadRON), or HM, is the United States Navy's acronym for their elite helicopter squadrons assigned the unenviable task of clearing ocean lanes, harbors and rivers of the deadly menace of sea mines.  The mission performed by the Navy's Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadrons is referred to as Airborne Mine Countermeasures (AMCM), being the airborne counterpart to the Navy's surface MCM forces.   The AMCM mission is conducted from the powerful MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopter.      The first response teams for a suspected mine crisis are the Airborne Mine Countermeasures squadrons.   Their helicopter-towed equipment provides the fastest and safest operations in the MCM arena.   Even when surface MCM ships are available to the Fleet, Airborne MCM is often called upon to assess the extent of the threat prior to risking expensive ship assets.   The helicopter squadrons are fully capable of many missions, including: precursory assessments of suspicious areas thorough reconnaissance of the area sweeping -- or artificially "exciting" -- the mines locating individual mines for removal by surface assets defining the limits of the dangerous area assessing the extent to which MCM operations have been successful      Two squadrons provide the U.S. Navy's AMCM expertise and capabilities.   Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron Fourteen (HM-14) and Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron Fifteen (HM-15) are integrated squadrons, combining both active duty and reserve personnel and equipment to maintain a rapid deployment AMCM contingency.      This site contains a wealth of information concerning AMCM.    The links at the bottom of each page will allow you to navigate to the area of your interest.    There is a page for each HM squadron, both past and present, as well as the general history of AMCM and the evolution of the helicopter in AMCM.    There are also pages describing mines, the history of mines and the mine countermeasures equipment used in AMCM.    If you are looking for a lost friend or contact in the AMCM community check the E-mail Address Page.    There you can find e-mail addresses, as well as post your own for others to find.    This site is constantly evolving and growing.    Look for more information to be added in the coming months.    If you have something of interest to add to the site, such as pictures, logos or information, please e-mail!

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