Smaller Version Of Quicksink Ship-Killing Smart Bomb Tested By USAF
The U.S. Air Force says it has tested a modified 500-pound-class GBU-38 Joint Direct Attack Munition, or JDAM, optimized for use as an anti-ship munition as part of its Quicksink program. The service has already demonstrated a 2,000-pound-class Quicksink bomb, and the new version could offer a valuable lower-cost anti-ship weapon that bombers and tactical jets could also carry more of on a single sortie. At the same time, there are questions about the exact scope of maritime targets that a Quicksink GBU-38 might be effective against.
The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) announced the test of the GBU-38-based Quicksink munition today, but did not say when exactly it had occurred. A B-2 Spirit stealth bomber dropped the weapon over the Gulf Test Range, which the 96th Test Wing at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida manages. The Air Force first unveiled the Quicksink program in 2021 after a test of the 2,000-pound-class type, which is a modified GBU-31/B JDAM.
'This new 500-pound [Quicksink] variant expands the B-2's targeting capabilities, providing combatant commanders with an expanded complement of innovative warfighting solutions,' a press release from AFRL states. 'A collaborative effort between Air Force Materiel Command's Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and Air Force Test Center (AFTC), and Air Combat Command's 53rd Wing enabled execution of the Quicksink live-fire tests.'
How much the 500-pound-class Quicksink munition may differ from the 2,000-pound-class type is not immediately clear.
Typical JDAMs consist of a low-drag bomb body combined with a new tail section that contains a GPS-assisted inertial navigation system (INS) guidance package, as well as clamp-on aerodynamic strakes. JDAM kits exist for 1,000-pound-class bombs, as well as 500 and 2,000-pound-class types. JDAMs, which can only hit static targets, can be built around various types of unguided bombs, including general-purpose high explosive and bunker-buster types.
At least when it comes to the 2,000-pound-class version, the Quicksink bomb combines the JDAM kit with a new imaging infrared seeker fitted to the nose. The Air Force has said in the past that the resulting munition, which is capable of engaging moving targets, navigates to a designated area first via GPS-assisted INS before switching over to the seeker. The weapon then finds and categorizes the target by checking its length against a detailed internal reference database. The seeker then provides additional course correction data to put the bomb on a path where it is intended to detonate right next to the target ship's hull, just below the waterline. Initial cueing to the target, which the launch platform or offboard sources could provide, is required. The computer-generated video below depicts a full engagement cycle.
The GBU-31-based Quicksink munition already presented a notably lower-cost option for engaging enemy ships, especially compared to traditional air-launched anti-ship cruise missiles. JDAM kits cost around $85,000, with the unguided bombs that they are paired with adding a minimal increase to the overall price tag. AFRL has said in the past that each Quicksink seeker unit costs around $200,000, and that the goal was to drive that price point down to some $50,000 as production ramped up. For comparison, the unit cost for the AGM-158C Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM), the U.S. military's premier air-launched anti-ship cruise missile, is around $3 million. Past U.S. military cost data has also pegged the price point of current generation AGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship cruise missiles at around $1.4 million.
A GBU-38-based Quicksink munition also offers important magazine depth benefits for both bombers and tactical jets. A B-2 like the one used in the latest Quicksink test can carry up to a whopping 80 500-pound-class JDAMs on a single sortie.
Loadouts for F-15E Strike Eagles, which have also been used extensively in past Quicksink testing, can often include up to nine GBU-38s. Strike Eagles have also been test loaded with as many as 15 500-pound-class JDAMs, but not necessarily with the intention to drop them all during a single mission, as you can read more about here. As a comparison, F-15Es have also been tested loaded with five AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) cruise missiles, from which the LRASM is derived.
Smaller jets like the F-16 Viper, which have more limited payload capacity overall, could also benefit greatly from access to a 500-pound-class anti-ship weapon. For instance, a typical anti-ship loadout for the Viper today includes just two Harpoons.
Any increased magazine depth translates to more engagement opportunities per sortie for an individual aircraft. It also means more munitions are available during a mission to employ against a single target, which could help overwhelm enemy point defenses.
For years now, there has been great interest within the Air Force and elsewhere across the U.S. military in new, lower-cost precision bombs and missiles, in general, particularly amid planning for a potential future high-end fight across the Pacific against China. Acquiring cheaper precision munitions as complements to more exquisite types is seen as essential for ensuring stockpiles are sufficiently full before such a conflict breaks out, and also to help replenish them in the event of protracted fighting. Lessons learned from recent U.S. operations in and around the Middle East, as well as observations from the ongoing war in Ukraine, have only validated this viewpoint and provided new impetus for programs like Quicksink.
The prospect of a large-scale conflict in the Pacific has also driven a broad push across America's armed forces to expand anti-ship capabilities and capacity across the board, again with capabilities like Quicksink.
It's also interesting to note here that Quicksink seeker technology is already known to have migrated to the Air Force's separate Extended Range Attack Munition (ERAM) effort. ERAM has been centered on the development of a low-cost cruise missile, primarily for Ukraine's armed forces.
At the same time, though far lower cost than something like the AGM-158C, modified JDAMs do not offer anywhere near the same standoff range capability to help keep the launch platform away from threats. A low-observable (stealth) platform like a B-2 or an F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) would have added the ability to bring Quicksink munitions closer to their intended targets with lower risk (but not no risk) in the face of limited defenses. Non-stealthy aircraft could use Quicksink munitions to help finish off damaged small surface combatants with already degraded defenses, or employ them against targets that are less-well-defended, or even essentially defenseless, to begin with. These could include vital sealift assets and civilian cargo vessels pressed into military service. Hitting ships at anchor in port or other littoral areas, especially if they are densely congregations, could be another application for Quicksink.
Wing kits that can extend the range of JDAMs from around 15 miles up to 45 miles, depending on the weapon's exact configuration and release envelope, also exist. The JDAM-Extended Range (JDAM-ER) is now a combat-proven capability as a result of their employment by Ukraine's Air Force in recent years. However, this is something the U.S. military has curiously not invested significantly in for its own use. Quickstrike-ER air-launched naval mines, which leverage the JDAM-ER kit, are the only example of this capability known to be in American service today. JDAM prime contractor Boeing has also been developing a cruise missile derivative, or Powered JDAM (PJDAM), which you can learn more about here.
The 2,000-pound-class Quicksink bomb has at least demonstrated its ability to sink a civilian-type cargo ship, but the smaller size of the new version might present limitations in terms of effectiveness. At the same time, it is worth noting that 500-pound-class Quickstrike mines are in service now, and are expected to detonate further away from a target's hull. The magazine depth benefits of the GBU-38-based Quicksink munition also means that a single aircraft could more readily release a salvo of the bombs at a ship for increased effect. There are smaller maritime assets, including landing craft and other types of ship-to-shore connectors, that Quicksink bombs based on the GBU-38 could be used against, as well.
Overall, Quicksink bombs offer a way to help free up weapons like LRASM for use against targets that demand higher-end capabilities to tackle.
The Air Force is clearly interested in the potential cost and other benefits that a 500-pound-class version of the Quicksink anti-ship munition could offer, and more details about its capabilities may now begin to emerge.
Contact the author: joe@twz.com
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