In a viral video clip, a derelict cargo vessel destined for a scrapyard, is seen to be floating in the Gulf of Mexico. Moments afterward, the vessel got torn apart by a 2,000-pound bomb that was specifically designed to sink vessels.
The Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) is named the Quicksink due to the speed at which it reportedly scuttles vessels. It was dropped from an F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet that was flying low. It detonated the advanced GPS-navigated bomb below the vessel.
The JDAM is a relatively cheaper way to convert unguided bombs into precision-guided weapons that can well be used in any weather condition. As the bomb starts to detonate, the cargo vessel — the Courageous — is lifted out of the water and split in half by the force of the blast.
The missile tests were carried out in April 2022, but never-before-seen footage from onboard the Courageous reflects the impact of an explosion at close quarters. Each JDAM bomb, the kind shown in the video, costs approximately $30,000.
They have a major benefit over conventional torpedoes that give away the location of the submarine and also open them up for a counterattack. Aircraft when compared to subs are way cheaper. F-15E Stike Eagle fighter jets approximately cost $87.7 million. A US submarine, on the other hand, can cost up to about $2.8 billion.
Per the Air Force Research Lab that developed this weapon, the Quicksink is designed to build a low-cost method of securing torpedo-like seaworthy kills directly from the air at a higher pace and over a larger area than covered by a lumbering submarine. Speaking at the time, Colonel Tony Meeks, the director of the US Air Force Research Laboratory’s Munitions Directorate, reportedly said that Quicksink is an answer to an urgent requirement to neutralize maritime threats worldwide.
Recently, there was a scandal regarding reports of spy balloons from China being shot down over the US. Eerie photographs reflected the gigantic Chinese spy balloons the size of three buses spotted over the US. Pentagon officials did admit they were tracking the craft for days but opted not to shoot it down.
However, the shooting down also sparked fury among some in the US and Beijing. The US plans on studying the wreckage from surveillance balloons shot down for advanced research. It later turned out that Chinese balloons have probably been used for spying on the UK, with Defence Minister Ben Wallace making a stunning admission.
References: MSN, WST POST
