How Unmanned Systems Could Bring Back Naval Aerial Mining

Aerial naval mining is a risky operation the U.S. Navy has not performed since Operation Desert Storm in 1991. Unmanned aerial systems could restore this capability to the Navy. But there was no follow-up to Northrop Grumman’s X-47B unmanned combat aerial system demonstrator, even though by 2015, it had successfully completed the first ever autonomous carrier launches, landings, and aerial refuelings. This interrupted progress threatens to delay the incorporation of unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs), and, specifically, the return of aerial naval mining to carrier air wings. A UCAV of similar size and weight to the X-47B could allow the Navy to carry out aerial naval mining at a relatively low risk.

Despite the combat record of aerial mining as a low-cost and persistent weapon system, and the efforts by the Navy and Air Force to develop the Quickstrike-ER, there is no discernible effort to pair this series of shallow-water aerial mines with unmanned systems.16 The Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA) in 2018 published a study that discussed incorporating UCAVs into the carrier air wing. The CSBA advocated for the continued development of systems that built on the capabilities demonstrated by the X-47B and called for UCAV production starting in 2025.17 The study, however, only considered unmanned systems supporting air defense, surveillance, strike warfare, electronic warfare, and antisubmarine warfare—it did not address mines.

The U.S. Navy has not yet laid minefields this century, but the United States employed the capability in maritime warfare in many 20th-century conflicts. The X-47B demonstrated that a viable carrier-based aerial mining capability is within reach of naval aviation. Aerial naval mining could be a key capability to limit an adversary’s freedom of maneuver or deter an amphibious invasion, and U.S. Navy unmanned aerial systems could make this mission a viable option again.

Nah bro we let the big old fat fella drop 48 thousand pounders from 40+ miles away.

https://www.53rdwing.af.mil/News/Article/3405784/53rd-wing-b-52-executes-long-range-mine-test-advancing-maritime-capabilities-in/

Or 300+ miles if they use the powered tail kits.

Midway down you see they are already wind tunnel testing the quickstrike mine version specifically to address mining the Taipei Strait and ports of the South China Sea.

https://www.twz.com/jet-powered-jdam-aims-to-turn-bombs-into-cruise-missiles

Then remember anything the B52 can do the B1B does three times as good. The B-One had three weapons bays not one plus 6 external hardpoints back in service now that SALT is dead. 70,000lb internal and 6x8000 external or another 48,000lbs

Only the TU160 the larger copy of the B1B comes close to this payload. The Bone is a monster and the Air Force has said they plan to use it to mine places with quickstrike and sink whole fleets with quicksink ER or The 300 mile XR versions. Plus the B1B was designed from the start yo carry harpoons

The B1B can carry EIGHTY FOUR 500lb jdams which with the seakers are quicksinks.

https://www.twz.com/air/smaller-version-of-quicksink-ship-killing-smart-bomb-tested-by-usaf

Some aircraft pr0n...

If fully loaded this is how many of each weapon the BOne can bring to the party and this is without those external pylon points. The B1B terrified the Soviets look at how many B48s it can yeet , and those SRAMs though. The lead B1Bs would kick the door open with SRAMS on the radars abd SAM missile.sites all over northern Russia then the B1B coming in at mach 0.9 and 200Ft AGL would city bust with 1.8 megaton B48s there was no defence against a B1B at 200ft laydown delivery of city killers. When they came to the SALT table the B1B was the first thing they said nope no nukes for that guy. 24 internal B48 and 12 external ALCM or B48s scared the piss out of the Soviets.

https://nara.getarchive.net/media/a-b-1-bomber-parked-on-the-flight-line-with-an-artists-concept-of-its-bomb-eff0e8

The Air Force is gonna use its heavy bombers dropping long range GPS guided quickstrike mines. They proved so accurate in testing that when the divers went to recover them they found bombs touching each other when dropped to the same GPS coordinates from different flights that alone is amazing.

Then remember the B1B can carry 24 two thousand lb quickstrikes internally and 12 more if they use the external pylons that we stupidly signed away in a treaty that’s dead now so those points have been reactivated. Internally the B1B can carry 84 five hundred lb jdams which are the basis for quickstrike mines and probably use 6 packs in the external pylon points if they really wanted too like the F15 six pack.racks with 30” lug spacing those pylons are 8,000lb rated each on the B1B you could six pack 1000lbs or triple pack 2000lbs too. No other aircraft can tote such loads.

Of course if you are using the powered version of quickstrike then the B52 can come play and drop them from 300 miles out well outside the SAM umbrella of even the largest SAM systems.

There is a seeker package with datalink for the quicksink version of the JDAM where again the ER glide version dropped from FL400 goes 40nm then sinks a ship the powered versions are 300+ miles you can have 500,1000,2000lb versions here again the B1B brings at least 84x500 or 24x2000lbs to the parry. That is fleet sinking hardware. The 2000lb quicksink is aptly named it can sink an aircraft carrier sized ship in a single hit as it detonates under the keel like a torpedo and breaks the ships back. Smaller ships like a DDG or frigate are just obliterated there is no defense if it hits the water next to your waterline and detonates 30 meters deep you are dead.

Two B1B bring 48 ship killers to battle. Or 168 of the smaller ship killers the 500lbs make short work of frigates and DDGs no need for the absolute over kill of the 2000lb monsters. Adding in the external pylons only makes these into more ridiculously overkill machines.

No other nation has ever possessed this level of conventional warfare killing ability. Sure you can put tactical nukes on harpoon missiles or sunburns like the Russians have and kill whole fleets but then you just started Armageddon not a good look.

The B1B can carry harpoons so can the B52 internally and externally on the BUFF. It wouldn’t take much to wire the B1B pylons for harpoons they already carried the wires for the ALCM or tomahawk cruise missiles then again tomahawks come in an antiship version too. Also a nuke verison back when we had balls and made sure every missile we made had a nuke warhead that would fit it.

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