The 85th TES partnered with the FRL to equip the F-15E Strike Eagle with modified GBU-31 Joint Direct Attack Munitions. Crdeit: U.S. Air Force photo by 1st Lt Lindsey Heflin.

The 85th Test and Evaluation Squadron (TES) and the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) have partnered to test an F-15E Strike Eagle equipped with modified 2,000lb GBU-31 Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM).

The JDAM test was conducted as part of QUICKSINK Joint Capability Technology Demonstration (JCTD), said 1st Lt Lindsey Heflin from 53rd Wing.

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It was carried out over the Gulf of Mexico on 26 August and saw the participation of three F-15E Strike Eagles from the 85th TES.

The test was aimed at validating a new approach to employ air-delivered munitions on ships.

USAF 85th Test and Evaluation Squadron F-15E weapons system officer major Andrew Swanson said: “For any large moving ship, the airforce’s primary weapon is the 2,000lb laser-guided GBU-24.

“Not only is this weapon less than ideal, it also reduces our survivability based on how it must be employed. This munition can change all of that.”

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QUICKSINK JCTD seeks to create a new tactic that helps deliver ‘torpedo-like seaworthy kills from the air’ at an affordable cost.

This latest test builds on an earlier 53rd Wing test conducted last year, in which a 49th TES B-52H Stratofortress dropped JDAMs to evaluate the viability of specific maritime impact conditions.

The Boeing F-15E dual-role fighter is an advanced long-range interdiction fighter and tactical aircraft.  It is the latest version of the Eagle, a Mach 2.5-class twin-engine fighter.

More than 1,500 F-15s are in service worldwide with the USAF, US Air National Guard (ANG) and the airforces of Israel, Japan, and Saudi Arabia, including over 220 F-15E fighters.