2,000lb GBU-31s ripple drop in Afghanistan by two F-15Es, 2009. Source Wikipedia.
Posted on 06/16/2023 7:36:42 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
A recent live-fire test saw an F-15E Strike Eagle destroy a “full-scale surface vessel” in the Gulf of Mexico with a new, experimental anti-ship munition—a unique foray into anti-ship warfare.
The test, carried out by the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), demonstrated the feasibility of using a GBU-31 Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) as a low-cost solution to quickly get mass into the fight against ships. The Air Force has dubbed its effort QUICKSINK, a nod to the modified JDAM’s role against ships and the rapidity with which the Air Force would like to validate this munition.
“QUICKSINK is an answer to an urgent need to neutralize maritime threats to freedom around the world,” said Col. Tony Meeks, director of the AFRL's Munitions Directorate, said in a statement covering the test. “The men and women of this directorate consistently find ways to solve our nation’s greatest challenges.”
QUICKSINK’s JDAM is essentially a 2,000-pound unguided bomb, modified with a bolt-on precision guidance kit for an anti-ship role. For that role, the weapon features a tail section with four control surfaces as well as a guidance unit. In the past, other munitions, such as torpedoes and anti-ship missiles, have been favored to take out enemy ships. Though now, QUICKSINK’s modified JDAM munition could offer commanders greater ordnance flexibility.
“Heavy-weight torpedoes are effective [at sinking large ships] but are expensive and employed by a small portion of naval assets,” said Maj. Andrew Swanson. “With QUICKSINK, we have demonstrated a low-cost and more agile solution that has the potential to be employed by the majority of Air Force combat aircraft, providing combatant commanders and warfighters with more options,” Major Swanson explained.
The AFRL program member explained that U.S. Navy submarines, the wolves of the ocean, pose a considerable threat to surface vessels. Still, submarines are costly, as are their anti-ship missiles and torpedoes. “A Navy submarine has the ability to launch and destroy a ship with a single torpedo at any time, but the QUICKSINK JCTD aims to develop a low-cost method of achieving torpedo-like kills from the air at a much higher rate and over a much larger area,” said Kirk Herzog, AFRL program manager.
“The development of this technology is critical to maintaining U.S. technological superiority and addressing defined national security challenges,” said Gerry Tighe, OUSD(R&E) oversight executive for the JCTD. “This successful demonstration represents an important milestone.”
What’s the over/under on when China will get the same weapon either by theft or bribery of assorted elected officials and corporate heads?
Next gen drones will be used probably. If all you need is one, a dedicated drone carrier can be built to carry a single bomb.
“A GPS bomb for a moving and maneuvering target, to try to have the USAF spread like a melanoma into Navy territory.
The navy should be the lead here, they have forgotten more about sinking ships than the USAF will ever know. And I’d like to know how pens and where this best fleet is that is inaccessible to the Navy to control.
This sounds like a defense industry marketing driven program.”
So the Air Forces’: Woke, DEI/DIE and LGBT people will be able to take out any enemy or friendly ships from their US offices in their homes.
How do they get jets in the vicinity of boats? This just moves the range of restricted air space farther away from the fleet/ships, and ratchets up the tension on the nuclear trigger.
Clearly, the US can’t win a war against Afghanistan, China or Russia. All we can do is expend vast quantities of money, send ours to die, and kill theirs. At the end of it all, nothing changes. The next conflict will be when the Nukes come out.
Soon, much sooner than anyone will believe.
Mankind, at least the guys who rise to the top like the scum in a septic tank, wouldn’t have it any other way.
Ripping our military has become great sport among a certain group of FReepers here.
You’ll know them by their support for Russia and China and their hate of the USA and NATO.
I truly hate what the Left and democrats have done to our military, but to throw out the baby with the bath water seems a step too far.
Soon, our whole military will be a relic and rendered mostly useless. Near future technology will mean we wasted trillions in outdated equipment.
The/our AF will be still flying F16’s, B52’s and their antique massive carrier planes.
My guess is the USAF is the lead agency for the test because they have the assets in place at Eglin AFB to conduct the test. Fully instrumented F-15Es, Live Fire Water ranges, Instrumentation in place to collect the data.
I believe the impact angle of the JDAM as it enters the water is critical.
If full scale development gets approved, then any aircraft that can carry a 2000 pound JDAM will eventually get certified to carry the Quicksink version.
Perhaps a rocketed version could be launched from a B-2 or B-21 from 100NM.
Who knows what the final Quicksink will look like.
...if I remember my history correctly, the U.S. Navy was not at all enthusiastic about the idea of creating a separate United States Air Force back in the mid-1940s; the USAF did become a separate service in Septemeber, 1947, however. The Navy is very jealous of its resources; I doubt the Navy was all that enthusiastic about the UASF’s success at sinking this vessel....
“Perhaps a rocketed version could be launched from a B-2 or B-21 from 100NM.”
Sounds like a perfect use for a cruise missile with long stand-off distance and precise terminal guidance to put the JDAM in the water close to the hull.
I think the AF would load up an F-15E with these things. The distance from Okinawa to the Taiwan strait is a bit less than 500 miles. The F-15E loaded with four 2000 lb JDAMs has a combat radius of 750 miles.
Ah, thanks - I was waiting for the internecine squabbling and rice bowl protecting to begin...
2,000lb GBU-31s ripple drop in Afghanistan by two F-15Es, 2009. Source Wikipedia.
“What exactly would you propose to counter a ccp threat at sea?”
Don’t know, I am not the expert. However, I can imagine a carrier fleet that uses the same technology from 50 years resting the bottom of the ocean if met with ten thousand or more cheap air and underwater AI drones. A modern factory designed just to produce cheap drones could likely produced thousands of drones in a couple of months for under a hundred dollars.
Most modern day drones can fly over 40 minutes and coordinating the drones has been proven by China using 5,164 drones into a show. Imagine 10 or 15 swarms attacking a fleet group.
So if you send an F-15 to within 18 miles of its target will it be able to deliver launch the ordnance without getting shot down first?
Good operations research question.
Your drone scenario is a possibility, so are hypersonic vehicles, lasers, charged energy beams, rods from god and a fleetwide monkeypox pandemic.
We pay people to think the unthinkable and to do the impossible, often times with nothing other than what is at hand.
I suggest we let them do their jobs and assume a positive outcome. Instead of doing nothing and hoping for a positive outcome.
Way too many variables to consider. If over hostile territory and the enemy had operational SAM sites it could get dicey.
“I suggest we let them do their jobs and assume a positive outcome. Instead of doing nothing and hoping for a positive outcome.”
There is nothing I can do, but hoping is a pretty thin thing to hang on too. Have you seen the idiot woke generals that are in charge? The brains behind the Afghan withdrawal and woke policies. More worried about transgender and gender non-conforming people and their continued struggle for equality then war. Good ideas and solutions will go there to die.
The navy should be the lead here, they have forgotten more about sinking ships than the USAF will ever know.
Unfortunately, my Navy is more concerned with pronouns and transvestites than doing its historical job of getting the other guys to die for their country.
Being paid for by our idiot politicians.
Politicians pay for nothing. We the taxpaying citizens pay for everything.
> A GPS bomb for a moving and maneuvering target, to try to have the USAF spread like a melanoma into Navy territory.
I can’t imagine that it wouldn’t be very expensive to add some fire and forget AI to track into the target. But, gravity is a relatively slow approach to a target and leaves a lot of time to be intercepted.
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