"Mine warfare and route-survey operations are pioneering the military exploitation of unmanned underwater vehicles. When allied mine warfare elements deployed as part of 'Operation Iraqi Freedombegan the job in March 2003 of clearing the approaches into the port of Umm Qasr, the worlds media became fascinated by the specially trained Marine Mammal Systems - in this case dolphins - used by the US Navy (USN) to inspect and classify mine-like objects. However, away from the media spotlight, another novel underwater capability - the REMUS (Remote Environmental Monitoring Unit) - was proving its worth in the warm, shallow waters of the Northern Arabian Gulf. The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHO) originally developed the REMUS unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) to conduct coastal surveys. It was later improved for military use with support from the Office for Naval Research (ONR) and the US Special Operation Command and was used to conduct autonomous wide-area searches, using its sides can sonar to systematically map the port channel. Once the REMUS vehicle was recovered and its sonar images processed, the dolphins were sent in to inspect potential targets. Therefore, the REMUS - now commercially available from Hydroid LLC - can be rightly said to be the first UUV used in a live military operation. In that regard, its employment in the Gulf was a significant milestone."