AN/SLQ-48 MNS (Mine Neutralization System) in use aboard Ardent. This remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) is controlled through an umbilical cable, has low acoustic and magnetic signature, and is equipped with low-light television (LLTV) cameras, allowing it to get close to mines to place destructive charges or cut their mooring lines without triggering them.
Her Command History for 1993-94 indicates that '..
on 1 November 1994 a reorganization of the U.S. Navy's Mine Countermeasures Community took place. Commander, Mine Warfare Command ceased to be Type Commander for the ships homeported in Ingleside, Texas; and a new entity, Naval Surface Group Ingleside, was created to serve as local agent for the new Type Commander, Commander, Naval Surface Forces Atlantic. NSG Ingleside was also intended to give the Ingleside ships "cradle to grave" assistance and supervision. In the new organization, ARDENT was assigned to Mine Countermeasures Squadron 3 (MCMRON 3). ARDENT remained in MCMRON 3 through the end of 1994.
Ardent was featured in a front-page article in the 31 July 2006 edition of DefenceNews that pointed out that Ardent and USS Dextrous were suffering from equipment failures that made them unable to perform their role.[1]
Ardent held a decommissioning ceremony at Naval Base San Diego on 17 August 2020 and was officially decommissioned on 27th of the same month.[2]
