The US has successfully tested a new weapon that is designed to destroy enemy warships. The test conducted on April 28 showed that the Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) targeted a ship, which broke into two pieces in the Gulf of Mexico.
The test was jointly demonstrated by the US Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and Eglin Air Force Base's Integrated Test Team. The test involved an F-15, which struck the vessel with a modern bomb that detonated underneath the ship.
Joint Direct Attack Munition (Quicksink)
The experiment used Joint Direct Attack Munition (Quicksink), a guidance kit that converts unguided bombs into all-weather precision-guided munitions. They were modified to engage moving targets with a GPS-assisted Interial Navigation System, according to Daily Mail.
With the Quicksink program, the US warfighters have been strengthened and become more advanced for combat with naval assets. The technique aims to save millions of dollars of submarines during combat and strategic military actions.
With this program, an aircraft could carry 1,000- or 2,000-pound JDAM bombs that would have the capacity to destroy naval targets and it will also decrease dependency on expensive anti-ship missiles.
Bombs Could Be Used In Place of Torpedoes
It is believed that heavy-weight torpedoes are the perfect fit and the most effective in targeting naval assets. But these are very expensive and whenever torpedoes are fired, they reveal the location of the source submarine. However, after launching JDAM bombs, aircraft are faster in changing position, a key action to secure the jets from counterattack.
The Quicksink program is also based on integrating a new optical terminal guidance system into an INS/GPS guided bomb of the JDAM family, to obtain a fast and relatively inexpensive surface attack weapon, according to Aviacionline.
The program also aims to neutralize threats at a low cost and it seeks to achieve torpedo-level attacks through air-launched weapons, including modified JDAM 2,000-pound precision bombs.
Director of AFRL's Munitions Directorate Colonel Tony Meeks believes that Quicksink is an answer to an urgent need to neutralize maritime threats to freedom around the world.
Maj. Andrew Swanson, 85th TES division chief of Advanced Programs, believes that with Quicksink, the US has 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".
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