| Submit your comments on this article |
| Home Front: WoT |
| Quickstrike: The B-52 Learns Another New Trick... |
| 2007-01-25 |
| From the good folks at StrategyPage. As a clarification, our tactical a/c have been able to drop mines for years - A-6s and A-7s did the heavy lifting for the mining of North Vietnamese ports during Linebacker, but up until now, B-52s weren't capable - they would have had to get in too close to some very heavy AAA threats. But I'm guessing that with JDAM style guidance, GPS tracking of where the lil' beasts went - and a suppressed enemy AAA system - My Lady Buffy will be able to get in quite close and drop what should be at least fifty of these beasts per sortie. Fifty mines is enough to close any port on the planet for months, even with Western sweeping technology. Now, let's not forget that within the last few weeks there have been quiet stories - posted and commented on here at the 'Burg - about Royal Navy and USN minesweepers showing up in the Gulf. Those are not your Grandpa's minesweepers - they're Mine Warfare Ships, capable of leading a thorough and complete mining campaign. If I were Ahmanidinnerjacket, I'd be worried - but I think he's too busy getting the 12th Imam's room ready to notice that the noose may be very slowly closing... January 23, 2007: The U.S. Air Force recently held, and publicized, a B-52 training mission that involved dropping naval mines. This is something the air force has been doing since World War II, and with great success. The current air force naval mine is the Mk-62 "Quickstrike." This is basically a 500 pound bomb, with a sensor package attached to the rear. There are three different sensor packages, each providing a different set of sensors to detonate the mine. The Mk-62 is a "bottom mine," which is dropped in shallow water, and then detects a ship passing above using pressure (of the ship on the water), magnetism (of the metal in the ships hull), or vibration. The sensor also comes with a computer, to enable the mine to follow certain instructions (like only detonate for ships that meet a certain criteria.) The B-52 drops the mines at an altitude of about 1,000 feet, while moving at 500-600 kilometers an hour. The mines are usually dropped in known shipping lanes, especially those that serve as approaches to a major port. During World War II, air dropped mines proved devastating to Japanese shipping. Same thing with their use against North Vietnam during the Vietnam war. The B-52s are also equipped to use Harpoon anti-ship missiles. Minor clarification - about two wings' worth of B-52s were converted about 20 years ago to launch Harpoon. IIRC those birds are still in the inventory, but the Harpoons aren't - I'm not sure, but I don't think the USAF and USN air-launch Harpoons are cross-system compatible. Together, these two systems make the B-52 a lethal naval weapon. The F-18, B-2, B-1B and P-3C can also deliver naval mines. Publicizing the exercise apparently sends a message to North Korea, Iran and China, about how quickly their seaborne lifelines could be cut. Mike |
| Posted by:Mike Kozlowski |
| #17 Shipman: Maybe the B-52 could drop the equivalent of a naval mine cluster bomb. Ahem. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2007-01-25 23:28 |
| #16 The Buffs could've done it during 'Nam, but then INTERSERVICE PATRIARCHY reared its head - the USN claimed that the USAF was trying to control a "clearly/obvious" "Navy mission" [water/harbors = Navy]; plus the Navy + many Pols argued that Navy air and Subs could do the job more cheaply than the USAF. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2007-01-25 23:12 |
| #15 Blogged it up Jan. 21 direct from the Air Force. LINK Mk-62 mine |
| Posted by: Chuck Simmins 2007-01-25 22:20 |
| #14 #11 LOL Ship |
| Posted by: Matt 2007-01-25 22:06 |
| #13 Re; IFF: the US has documented acoustic signatures for years; it would be easy to program the mines' computer to recognize good guys. anybody else gets wet. Yep. I s'pect the mullah's subs have already been acoustically recorded. Mines can also be programmed to detonate on other criteria, say like on a 2nd data match, or a numerically-selected target (say let the first two ships pass, then detonate against a third). And bottom mines are a b*tch to find. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2007-01-25 21:25 |
| #12 This idea goes way back. They used B-29s to mine Japan's harbors near the end of WWII. I remember reading that Lemay wasn't too happy about it. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2007-01-25 21:04 |
| #11 New keybird Frank. I'm removering the Kosmolean from my stored Mime-Gun even as we digress. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2007-01-25 18:43 |
| #10 memes. |
| Posted by: Twelfth Imami 2007-01-25 17:48 |
| #9 that's mimes, ship |
| Posted by: Frank G 2007-01-25 17:47 |
| #8 I thought we didn't talk about mines. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2007-01-25 17:43 |
| #7 '59 here too... |
| Posted by: Frank G 2007-01-25 17:43 |
| #6 Last AF Forecast I saw WRT B-52 was that they would be flying until ~ 2050's; that makes them approaching 100 years old!!! Whatta plane! |
| Posted by: USN, Ret. 2007-01-25 17:41 |
| #5 I was also born in '59 - I hope we're both sniffin' daisys for lots of year to come... Bathroom graffiti I've seen: Whoever dies with the most toys wins! Whoever stope to smell the flowers wins! I lived forever - wound up with all the winners' toys, and I smoked the flowers! |
| Posted by: M. Murcek 2007-01-25 17:22 |
| #4 Something tells me B-52s will still be flying missions when I'm pushing up daisies (I was born in 1959). |
| Posted by: xbalanke 2007-01-25 16:28 |
| #3 RE: Harpoons, for once the USAF and USN got together and played nicely, they are compatible, but surface launch (ship-board) and air-launch are not. at 50 / pass, the sealanes should be closed with only a couple of aircraft being exposed to hostile fire. and with a little radar jamming exercises, or 'technical malfunctions,' (complete with bogus apology) the BUFFS could sneak in undetected and leave a surprise right on DinnerJacket's doorstep. Re; IFF: the US has documented acoustic signatures for years; it would be easy to program the mines' computer to recognize good guys. anybody else gets wet. |
| Posted by: USN, Ret. 2007-01-25 14:29 |
| #2 Sounds like these things have IFF capability? Is it possible underwater? |
| Posted by: gorb 2007-01-25 14:20 |
| #1 Interesting Mike. Looks to me like an "enhanced sanctions" scenario - blockade their ports (we know they don't have airlift capability;). |
| Posted by: Spot 2007-01-25 13:03 |