Watch: Air Force’s “QUICKSINK” Smart Bomb Rips Cargo Ship In Half

Just weeks after Ukraine sunk a Russian warship, the US Air Force revealed new footage of a precision-guided bomb ripping a cargo ship in half during a new weapons test. 

The US Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) used a modified GBU-31 Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) under the Quicksink Joint Capability Technology Demonstration (JCTD) on April 28 over the 120,000-square-mile Eglin Gulf Test and Training Range on the Gulf of Mexico to sink a cargo ship. 

An F-15E Strike Eagle fighter dropped the JDAM, successfully striking the ship at the marine testing range. The smart bomb penetrated the ship’s hull and exploded, immediately ripping the vessel in half. 

“QUICKSINK is an answer to an urgent need to neutralize maritime threats to freedom around the world,” said Col. Tony Meeks, director of AFRL’s Munitions Directorate. 

By repurposing a JDAM for maritime missions, QUICKSINK will save the DoD money and be able to quickly field these weapons worldwide. 

“QUICKSINK is unique in that it can provide new capabilities to existing and future DOD weapons systems, giving combatant commanders and our national leaders new ways to defend against maritime threats,” explained Kirk Herzog, AFRL program manager.

QUICKSINK could soon be another viable option for combat commanders to sink enemy ships and is a low-cost alternative to 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,” continued Herzog.

The testing of this technology comes as Russia continues a two-month assault on Ukraine. There’s also concern that China is expanding its massive naval fleet in the Pacific. 

Watch the insane video of the modified JDAM splitting the vessel in half.