[Baron Munchausen]

The "sweep" button is for odd circumstances, admittedly, but if it wasn't there you'd miss it sooner or later. What if you go into combat against an enemy force that included mine layers, and didn't manage to destroy all of the enemy before the turns run out? Maybe they attacked one of your planets where you have setup a major military base with resupply and shipyard and everything. The AI will automatically deploy any mines that it has when combat begins. Not smart, but that's what it does. A player might well want to drop mines on your base on purpose. So, you are sitting on a mine field. What next? I'm not sure if you can move OUT of a minefield without being hit, but presumably if you've got minesweepers they would protect you moving out as well as moving in. But what if you've got OTHER ships that you want to bring INTO the sector? Move them in, and BOOM! So, you could move your mine sweeper ship OUT of the sector and then back in... OR you could click the "sweep mines" button. I think this would work for a base, too. So, you could put a minesweper component on a base and after combat where you think the enemy may have dropped some mines click the sweep button. You never know if there might be MORE mines all around you, too. Maybe you'd hit a lot more mines if you moved! This lets you sweep without actually moving.