The US Air Force and Navy have tested a QUICKSINK live-fire anti-ship attack with a B-2 Spirit heavy strategic bomber aircraft in the Gulf of Mexico.
The event saw techniques for neutralizing surface vessels using precision-guided bombs modified specifically to counter maritime systems at low cost.
According to the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL), QUICKSINK leverages a guidance kit equipped with a new Weapon Open Systems Architecture seeker solution.
QUICKSINK supports rapid attacks within budget and allows integration with current and future weapon systems for enhanced strikes against static and moving targets at sea.
Additionally, it achieves a similar capacity to destroy vessels without giving off the user’s location to adversaries compared to traditional ship-killing projectiles such as MK-48 heavyweight torpedoes.
The agency noted that the QUICKSINK weapon is not classified as a mine but is designed to have immediate effects on enemy platforms.
“The development of this technology helps deliver technological superiority to ensure the United States can defend our interests, maintain freedom of action, and seize the initiative over large maritime areas,” AFRL Munitions Director Col. Matthew Caspers stated.
The QUICKSINK Project
AFRL’s Munitions Directorate continues to expand the QUICKSINK capability under the US Air Force and Navy’s broader Maritime Weapon Program at Eglin Air Force Base, an initiative to amplify the military’s anti-ship lethality using modern air-launched assets.
In 2023, AFRL selected industry partner BAE Systems to develop an air-launched anti-ship munition seeker for the QUICKSINK effort.
One year earlier, the agency tested a modified 2,000-pound (907-kilogram) Guided Bomb Unit Joint Direct Attack Munition from an F-15E Strike Eagle combat jet for the project.
“The men and women of the Munitions Directorate consistently find ways to solve our nation’s greatest challenges,” Caspers commented during the Gulf of Mexico demonstration.
“QUICKSINK is an answer to an urgent need to neutralize maritime threats to freedom around the world.”
“This program is unique in that it can provide capabilities to modify existing and future Department of Defense weapons systems, giving combatant commanders and our national leaders new ways to defend against maritime threats.”