US tests 'low-cost' guided bomb that could break vessel into two
Technology
Stealth bomber proved a low-cost, air-delivered method for defeating surface vessels
(Web Desk) - The US Air Force tested its guided bomb, Quicksink, which strikes marine vessels like a torpedo, during the exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2024.
In RIMPAC 2024, participating ships and aircraft conducted long-planned, live-fire sinking exercises (SINKEXs) and sank the decommissioned USS Dubuque (LPD 8) and the decommissioned USS Tarawa (LHA 1).
The US said both were sunk in waters 15,000 feet deep, more than 50 nautical miles off the northern coast of the island of Kauai.
During the SINKEXs, participating units from Australia, Malaysia, the Netherlands, the Republic of Korea, and the US Air Force, Army, and Navy gained proficiency in tactics, targeting, and live firing against surface ships at sea.
As part of the SINKEX, a US Air Force B-2 Spirit stealth bomber, in partnership with the US Navy, proved a low-cost, air-delivered method for defeating surface vessels through a Quicksink demonstration.
The Quicksink experiment is funded by the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering.
It aims to provide options to neutralize surface maritime threats while demonstrating the inherent flexibility of the joint force.
According to the US, this bomb is an urgent answer to the need to quickly neutralize maritime threats over massive expanses of oceans worldwide at minimal cost.
Historically, torpedoes have been used to strike maritime targets.
While extremely effective, torpedoes are also quite expensive to deploy and require special naval assets like submarines in the adversarial vicinity to cause intended damage.
Therefore, the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) has turned to Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) to deliver low-cost and agile attack solutions.
A JDAM guidance kit converts existing unguided bombs into precision-guided smart ‘munitions.’
The inertial navigation system (INS) and global positioning system (GPS) in the tail section of the kit help convert unguided bombs into an all-weather weapon compatible with advanced fighter jets.
The JDAM’s target coordinates can be loaded into the aircraft before takeoff, before weapon release, and automatically from the aircraft’s sensors.
The US Navy’s website claims that JDAM enables multiple weapon releases against a single target or at multiple targets in a single pass.
The JDAM would be deployable only when a ship’s aerial defenses are compromised. So, it might be a while before we see this ‘torpedo-like’ bomb in action.
