Posted on 05/03/2022 7:24:32 PM PDT by artichokegrower
The U.S. Air Force has demonstrated a lethal new weapon that could provide a low-cost and more widely-available alternative to sinking ships with traditional torpedoes.
The new weapon, known as the GBU-31 Joint Direct Attack Munition, or JDAM, was tested during a demonstration last month in the Gulf of Mexico. It was the second experiment in the QUICKSINK Joint Capability Technology Demonstration, funded by the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering.
During the test, a modified 2,000-pound modified JDAM precision-guided bomb was launched from an F-15E Strike Eagle onto a full-scale ship in the Gulf of Mexico, successfully sinking the vessel in a matter of seconds.
(Excerpt) Read more at gcaptain.com ...
So the Navy and Air Force will have to collaborate? Will that be a problem? I can see the Navy brass getting their noses out of joint.
You misunderstand, the AF invented this to SINK the Navy.
This is interesting because it is not designed to hit the ship, instead it hits the water and explodes under the ship. This does bad things to the ship
“So the Navy and Air Force will have to collaborate? Will that be a problem? I can see the Navy brass getting their noses out of joint.”
Inter-service rivalry can sometimes be a good thing.
Dang! I guess various navies can save money on life boats and life jackets.
That would end well.
That would end well.
JustDAM
Was anybody trying to shoot down the F15E?
I suppose big drones will eventually be doing that instead of Tommy ‘pretend hero’ Cruise.
Quick video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmfRi2Vl3JQ
The remaining pieces of the boat slip under the waves in less than 30 seconds. Wow.
The need to test it on Mexico and see if they can sink Mexico into the Gulf of Mexico.
Amazing capability.
I wonder if Taiwan would be interested in appropriating these.
All well and good IF the launching aircraft can survive inside the ship missile envelope.
The JDAM is ballistic, is has to be high or close to drop. Either make it missile bait.
Very few if any of the crew could have got off that ship.
It’s a guided bomb. With some wings and fins it’s a long range gliding guided bomb that can do evasive actions on it’s way in.
The initial detonation uses water’s incompressibility to break the back of the ship. Then, is it my imagination or was that a pretty impressive secondary explosion?
Definitely poor odds for any crew on the ship. Even played in slo-mo.
Yeah… The second explosion was Sorta like a fuel air vapor explosion.
The USAF has long had maritime strike as a mission. Currently, in addition to gravity bombs, they carry the Harpoon and LRASM anti-ship missiles. And yes, we collaborate extensively. If the Navy wants to kill a ship and there is an AF asset available, they will use it. You think the Air Force gets upset when the USN shoots down an aircraft?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.