The U.S. Air Force has new technology that can rapidly sink ships right before your eyes. Their lab even released footage of the cutting-edge weapon, dubbed QUICKSINK, showing it destroying a ship in the Gulf of Mexico.
The Air Force Research Laboratory and Eglin Integrated Test Team conducted the first QUICKSINK test on April 28, 2022.
A single bomb was dropped on an empty transport ship using an F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet. – In this way the ship will sink within her 30 seconds. A second video shows the ship virtually torn in half and lying on the ocean floor.
The Air Force was understandably vague about the technology and the details of how it would work effectively. However, they do reveal that QUICKSINK involves a modified 907-kilogram (2,000-pound) Joint Direct Attack Weapon (JDAM). JDAM is part of a technology that converts unguided bombs, or “dumb bombs,” into precision-guided “smart” weapons. To hit the target accurately.
The JDAM system allows free-falling bombs to hit targets with an accuracy of less than 5 meters (16.4 feet) when GPS data is available. Even in the absence of GPS data, it is possible to reach a target within a margin of error of 30 meters (98 feet).
Torpedoes, underwater missiles fired from ships and submarines, are the most common means of sinking enemy ships. However, this new technology provides the military with a more effective way to destroy ships from the air. Additionally, they are significantly cheaper than torpedoes and can be deployed over much wider ocean areas.
“Heavyweight torpedoes are effective.” [at sinking large ships] However, it is expensive and is used by only a small percentage of naval assets. With QUICKSINK, we have demonstrated a lower cost, more agile solution that has the potential to be adopted by the majority of Air Force fighters, providing more options for combatant commanders and warfighters.” said Maj. Andrew Swanson, 85TES division chief. The program said in a statement:
“Naval submarines have the ability to launch and destroy ships with a single torpedo at any time, but the QUICKSINK JCTD has been able to achieve torpedo-like kills from the air with much higher probability and over a year. “We aim to develop a low-cost way to do this over a much larger area,” explained Kirk Herzog, AFRL program manager.