Air Force breaks ship in half with single 2,000 pound ‘quicksink’ bomb

Recently released footage shows the decimation of a cargo ship by a 2,000 pound Joint Direct Attack Munition dropped by the Air Force from an F-15E Strike Eagle. In the roughly one-minute video taken last April, an old, derelict cargo ship – the Courageous – is seen floating in the Gulf of Mexico.

Moments later a JDAM approaches from above and the Courageous (pictured) is literally lifted out of the water and split in half, as waves begin to crash on the decks.

Once the water is settled, the ship can be seen, thanks to a camera placed aboard the ill-fated ship, all but underwater. 

A video of the devastating strike was released last year, but the new footage shows the destructive power of the ‘quicksink’ bomb from onboard the ship for the very first time.

The JDAM (pictured), which in the video is being tested by the Air Force Research Laboratory is called the Quicksink, because it does – per the video, sink ships quickly. According to the Air Force Research Lab, the Quicksink ‘aims to develop a low-cost method of achieving torpedo-like seaworthy kills from the air at a much higher pace and over a much larger area than covered by a lumbering submarine.’ The cost of the type of JDAM bomb being tested in the video is about $30,000.

An F-15E Strike Eagle fighter launched the modified bomb, successfully striking the target by detonating a GPS-navigated bomb underneath the vessel. The new technology provides the U.S. Air Force with torpedo-like kill capabilities on U.S. Air Force platforms. The experiment used Joint Direct Attack Munition, a guidance kit that converts unguided bombs into all-weather precision-guided munitions. While torpedoes are mostly used to sink enemy ships, such an attack gives away the location of the submarine, making it vulnerable to counterattack. Pictured: A 2,000 pound JDAM from the  weapon’s magazine to the hangar bay of USS Harry S. Truman.

Quicksink risks relatively low-cost aircraft when compared with the danger of losing a submarine to enemy retaliation after a torpedo strike. The weapon ultimately gives U.S. warfighters more options when in combat. A single F-15E Strike Eagle costs $87.7 million per aircraft, whereas a U.S. submarine can cost up to $2.8 billion per unit, according to Aero Corner. U.S. maritime threats come predominantly from China and Russia, with several incidents in the South-China Sea prompting the deployment of U.S. wartime vessels. Pictured: A Royal Air Force F-15E plane in flight. 

Last January, the Southern Theater Command of the People’s Liberation Army claimed the USS Benfold ‘illegally’ sailed into Chinese territorial waters without permission, violating the country’s sovereignty. They added that Chinese naval and air forces had tracked the ship. The U.S. Navy rejected the idea that the Benfold was warned away but appeared to confirm the ship was operating in the area, saying the mission reflected the U.S. Navy’s commitment to defend freedom of navigation. The navy frequently carries out such missions in the South China Sea to challenge Chinese territorial claims.

Want more stories like this from the Daily Mail? Visit our profile page here and hit the follow button above for more of the news you need.