By Kontur | 2025-09-02

The US Air Force has been testing a new kind of weapon in the Gulf of Mexico: a bomb that can turn even a stealth bomber into a ship killer.

The program is called Quick Reaction Kinetic Defeat of Ships, or QuickSink, and its latest trial involved dropping a smaller, 500-pound version from a B-2 Spirit, the bat-winged aircraft designed to slip through enemy defenses. The test showed that the weapon's punch doesn't depend on size.

At its core, QuickSink is a smart bomb with a new mission. It started as a modification of the GBU-31, a conventional bomb used widely across the US inventory. Engineers gave it advanced software, maritime-targeting algorithms and a seeker built on an open-architecture design. Together, those upgrades allow the bomb to track a moving ship and strike at its weakest point, just below the waterline.

That's where physics takes over. A blast beneath the hull sends a shockwave through the vessel, lifting it before the keel snaps. Even a lighter weapon, detonated in the right place, can break a ship apart.

The appeal is about cost and impact: instead of building new torpedoes or missiles, the Air Force has found a way to give a standard bomb the same effect at a fraction of the price.

The B-2 and beyond

The choice of the B-2 for the test was deliberate. With its long range, stealth profile and ability to carry both nuclear and conventional weapons, it remains one of the most formidable aircraft in service.

Pairing it with QuickSink brings that reach into the maritime domain. A single bomber can carry multiple rounds, fly deep into contested zones and deliver strikes that once would have required a fleet.

But QuickSink's modular design also makes it adaptable across platforms. It can fit onto fighters like the F-15E and F-35, and may eventually be carried by drones. That flexibility aligns with the Pentagon's concept of Joint All-Domain Operations, which stresses spreading capabilities across different services and aircraft rather than relying on one platform.

For NATO allies, interoperability is the draw. The United Kingdom, Norway and others could integrate QuickSink into their own fleets, extending the alliance's ability to counter maritime threats. Joint exercises and shared development would make that integration easier, reinforcing a collective deterrent posture from the open ocean to the littorals.

Shifting the balance

QuickSink complicates the calculations of those who depend on naval power.

China's expanding carrier fleet and amphibious ships would face a weapon designed to sink large vessels quickly and cheaply. Russia, already strained by aging platforms and limited resources, would struggle even more. Ukraine's Operation Spider's Web, a campaign of drones and dispersed air defenses that has damaged Russian bombers on their own airfields, has already exposed the fragility of Moscow's strategic forces. The same vulnerabilities may hold true at sea.

What makes QuickSink interesting is the way it reframes an old tool. The weapon begins as an ordinary bomb, but with added software and a new seeker it hunts ships and aims beneath the waterline. A familiar piece of hardware becomes something unexpected -- cheap to make, fast to field and suddenly able to do the work of a torpedo.