Scouts can reveal mines, allowing nearby friendly units to attack them. The flak frigate can attack units in all directions, so a mix of flak and scouts can very quickly punch a hole in minefields. For the most part, this turns minefields into a bit of a joke since they can be easily cleared for a fraction of the cost to place them.
You can usually avoid minefields altogether if you are careful, allowing you to just delegate some scouts to cleanup duty afterwards.
