During recent manoeuvres in conjunction with the US Navy (USN), the US Air Force (USAF) demonstrated the pairing of one of its most expensive assets with one of its most-cost-effective warship-killing weapons.
During the event, which took place on 19 July 2024 during a live-fire sinking exercise (SINKEX) as part of Exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2024, saw a USAF B-2 Spirit stealth bomber use a Quicksink munition to target the ex-USN amphibious assault ship Tarawa, which was positioned more than 50 nautical miles off the northern coast of the Hawaiian island of Kauai.
Quicksink is a Joint Capability Technology Demonstration (JCTD) programme that rapidly integrates and demonstrates USAF technology that creates an air-delivered, low-cost, surface vessel defeat weapon. Key to the capability is the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) development of a weapon open systems architecture (WOSA) seeker for precision targeting of maritime surface vessels at a low cost. This is installed on the nose of a GBU-31/B Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) and combined with an imaging infra-red camera mounted in a fairing on the side of the munition as well as the JDAM’s existing tail-mounted GPS-assisted inertial navigation system (INS) guidance. When the Quicksink munition is released, it uses the standard JDAM kit to glide to the target area and then the seeker/camera combination to lock onto the ship, after which the guidance system directs the bomb to detonate near the hull just below the waterline.
Although Quicksink munitions have previously been deployed from F-15E Strike Eagles during previous demonstrations in 2021 and 2022, this was the first time that a B-2 has dropped the weapon. Given that a B-2 can carry up to 16 GBU-31 JDAMs, enabling them with the Quicksink capability offers a significant anti-surface vessel capability from a single, stealthy platform.
While heavyweight torpedoes are still the primary method used to sink major enemy surface combatants, they are expensive weapons that are only carried by a limited number of naval platforms. The Quicksink technology, on the other hand, can potentially “achieve the same kind of anti-ship lethality with air-launched weapons, including modified 2,000-pound-class precision-guided bombs” according to the AFRL.
During the SINKEX, Tarawa was also targeted by a Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) launched by a USN F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter. The LRASM achieved an initial operating capability in December 2018.
During a previous RIMPAC 2024 SINKEX on 11 July the ex-USN landing platform dock Dubuque was also sunk. As well as the USN and USAF, naval units participating in the SINKEX came from Australia, Malaysia, the Netherlands and South Korea.
“Events like live-fire SINKEXs give participating nations the ability to test and conduct training on weapons and systems in a realistic environment that cannot be replicated in simulators,” the US 3rd Fleet stated in a 23 July press release. “Additionally, these training events refine partner nations’ abilities to plan, communicate and conduct complex maritime operations such as precision and long-range strike capabilities.”
The press release further explained that former USN vessels used in SINKEXs, referred to as hulks, “are prepared in strict compliance with regulations prescribed and enforced by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under a general permit the navy holds pursuant to the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act. Each SINKEX requires the hulk to sink to at least 1,000 fathoms (6,000 ft) of water and at least 50 nautical miles from land.
“In accordance with EPA regulations, prior to a SINKEX the navy rigorously cleans the hulk and removes, to the maximum extent practicable, all materials that may degrade the marine environment, including the removal of polychlorinated biphenyls,” the 3rd Fleet press release added. “Additionally, petroleum is cleaned from the vessel’s tanks, pipes, and reservoirs and all trash, floatable materials, and mercury or fluorocarbon containing materials are removed. The navy documents the hulk cleaning process to EPA and keeps EPA informed before and after the SINKEX.”
Twenty-nine nations, 40 surface ships, three submarines, 14 national land forces, more than 150 aircraft and 25,000 personnel are currently participating in RIMPAC 2024 in and around the Hawaiian Islands. The exercise began on 27 June and concludes on 1 August.
