January23, 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. 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.