Following precision bombing we now have precision mining

[Julien]

By mating mines to JDAM tail units the USAF can now precision mine.

On 23 September 2014, a B-52H bomber at high altitude north of Guam accomplished an aviation firstthe release of a winged, precision aerial mine. The inert, orange and white GBU-62B(v-1)/B Quickstrike-ER (extended range) separated cleanly from the B-52, rolled, and three seconds after release, the BSU-104 wings deployed, transforming a free-fall munition into a medium range weapon. Under command from the attached Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) tail kit, the weapon flew around 40 nautical miles(nm) and impacted the water. Had the weapon been a live system dropped in shallow water, it would have settled to the bottom to lie in wait for a target. This effort marked the first advance in aerial mine delivery techniques since 1943 and demonstrated a capability that substantially changes the potential of aerial mining in a threat environment. Using off-the-shelf components and operational aircraft, aerial mining quietly entered the twenty-first century.

Full article http://www.airpower.au.af.mil/digital/pdf/articles/2015-Mar-Apr/V-Pietrucha.pdf

[Seahawk]

So what was the advance in 1943?

[AntPhillips]

So what was the advance in 1943?

Dambusters maybe, as the bouncing bombs were technically mines.

[pigsty]

This somehow seems a bit of an anticlimax. The GBU-62 is basically a Mk.82 bomb with mine parts attached (fuses and the like); attaching wings and guidance gear to 80-series bombs is pretty much standard practice now. It's almost tempting to wonder what kept them.

Since the last time the US needed air-dropped mines was 1991, perhaps a lack of interest?

[Aeronut]

In the early 90's I had a small part in a plan to drop sea mines from a Hercules. The project floundered (officially) on the international understanding that sea mines had to be accurately plotted and that wasn't possible with the method proposed. Unofficially it floundered because the structure used to support the mines and deploy them from the aircraft had been designed for a ship installation and was made from steel. Without mines this structure weighed in at close to the maximum cargo weight of the Hercules.

[viscount806x]

In the early 90's I had a small part in a plan to drop sea mines from a Hercules. The project floundered (officially) on the international understanding that sea mines had to be accurately plotted and that wasn't possible with the method proposed. Unofficially it floundered because the structure used to support the mines and deploy them from the aircraft had been designed for a ship installation and was made from steel. Without mines this structure weighed in at close to the maximum cargo weight of the Hercules.

Still, on the positive side, the performance on the way home would have been sprightly wouldn't it?

[tonyot]

Still, on the positive side, the performance on the way home would have been sprightly wouldn't it?

I bet the Herk pilot would get a sore arm as no doubt he/she would be vigorously manipulating the trim wheel as all of that steel moved down the length of the cabin!

[Richard E]

This somehow seems a bit of an anticlimax. The GBU-62 is basically a Mk.82 bomb with mine parts attached (fuses and the like); attaching wings and guidance gear to 80-series bombs is pretty much standard practice now. It's almost tempting to wonder what kept them.

Since the last time the US needed air-dropped mines was 1991, perhaps a lack of interest?

If the munitions can be deployed from a B-52 they could, presumably, also be deployed from a B-2A. I wonder if the US now thinks it would be advantageous to have the ability to quietly deploy anti-shipping mines at short notice to keep certain Pacific Rim navies' ships bottled up in their home ports