B-52H Stratofortress drops standoff Quickstrike mine

 A Quick Strike ER mine hangs from a B-52H at Andersen AFB, during Valiant Shield 18, on September 16.

A USAF B-52H flying from Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, has deployed a 2,000lb (907kg) shallow water mine from standoff range for the first time. The Quickstrike Extended Range (ER) mine was dropped from the 96th Bomb Squadron Stratofortress as part of a joint USAF and US Navy test during the Valiant Shield 2018 exercise. 

The mine was delivered from altitude and at speed from outside a presumed enemy’s anti-aircraft range. The inert weapon entered the water near the Northern Marianas and was directed into position by a Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) kit. 

A pair of US Navy P-8A maritime patrol aircraft from Patrol Squadron Five (VP5) monitored the test to collect data, before navy divers recovered the mine. 

Capt Craig Quinnett, the Quickstrike’s B-52 test lead, explained: “Quickstrike mines in the past were dropped by just gravity weapons. The B-52 or other bombers had to be low to meet their accuracy.” He continued: “Now, with JDAM and the Quickstrike ER, this gives us the ability to deploy precision mines, so we can stand off, put these weapons exactly where we know they’re going to go, so we don’t have to get in, get low next to the enemy’s weapons. The Quickstrike ER is a huge step forward for naval mines.”