Air Force Fighters, Bombers for Maritime Strike?

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fretburner

Banned Member
Not sure if this was discussed here before - but are Air Force Fighters (e.g. F-15E, F-16) and/or Bombers (e.g. B-2, B-1) able to strike enemy ships?

I guess the recent British/French strike on Libyan vessels at port will not be the same as hitting ships at sea?

Or maybe it's safe to assume that for as long as missiles like the Harpoon are integrated to the AC, it can strike enemy ships? I don't know if there's any special requirement for radar/guidance to hit a ship at sea versus on land.


Mods: if this was a topic before, please lock/delete this. Thanks!
 
V

vivtho

New Member
fretburner said:
Not sure if this was discussed here before - but are Air Force Fighters (e.g. F-15E, F-16) and/or Bombers (e.g. B-2, B-1) able to strike enemy ships?

I guess the recent British/French strike on Libyan vessels at port will not be the same as hitting ships at sea?

Or maybe it's safe to assume that for as long as missiles like the Harpoon are integrated to the AC, it can strike enemy ships? I don't know if there's any special requirement for radar/guidance to hit a ship at sea versus on land.


Mods: if this was a topic before, please lock/delete this. Thanks!
Click to expand...
The F-16 has been integrated with the AGM-119 Penguin AShM.
While the F-15 cannot launch anti-ship missiles, it can launch the AGM-130 boosted LGB which can attack moving ships (IIRC AGM-130s from Navy aircraft have been used in such a role in Desert Storm or the Tanker War)
The B-1 and B-2 don't have any Harpoon capability, but the B-52 can carry and launch Harpoons from its wing pylons. However, all bombers in the US inventory can deploy mines (which are basically treated as unguided bombs)
 
OPSSG

OPSSG

Super Moderator
Staff member
vivtho said:
The F-16 has been integrated with the AGM-119 Penguin AShM.
Click to expand...
The Penguin is a helicopter launched anti-ship missile (it's a bit smaller) and it is also the standard anti-ship missile for the F-16 Fighting Falcons of the Royal Norwegian Air Force.

As I understand it, the USAF only uses the Harpoon missile on its B-52H bombers, and F-16/F-15 integration is for non-US customers.

Fyi, many F-15s and F-16s operated by countries (other than the US) have a secondary martitime strike capability and many of these are wired to carry the Harpoon missile (eg. F-15 and F-16 operators like S. Korea, Singapore and Isreal). For more information read the USN fact file on the Harpoon missile. According to the USN link provided, the Harpoon can be carried on the P-3C Orion, F-16s, F-15s, and the B-52H. The P-8 Poseidon MMA and India's P-8Is are also expected to have the Harpoon missile integrated.

In fact, air forces of other countries (like Singapore) have integrated the Harpoon missile onto their Fokker 50 Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPAs) and was these MPAs that test-fired the Harpoon in April 1999 and this capability was declassified in Nov 2004. Keep in mind that the Fokker 50 is most commonly used as a passenger jet. The Indian air force's Jaguar maritime strike fighters are equipped with Harpoon missiles (see link). So there are quite a few air forces who maintain a maritime strike capability.

vivtho said:
While the F-15 cannot launch anti-ship missiles...
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Wrong, my friend (read the links provided in this post). :D

BTW, both the F-15K and F-15SG can carry both the Harpoon and the SLAM ER missiles, which ensures that these Slam/Strike Eagles can perform air-to-air, air-to-ground and air-to-sea missions (see link).
 
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V

vivtho

New Member
OPSSG said:
The Penguin ..... both the F-15K and F-15SG can carry both the Harpoon and the SLAM ER missiles, which ensures that these Slam/Strike Eagles can perform air-to-air, air-to-ground and air-to-sea missions (see link).
Click to expand...
Sorry ... I assumed he was asking about USAF specific anti-ship capabilities.
 
Y

youpii

New Member
fretburner said:
Not sure if this was discussed here before - but are Air Force Fighters (e.g. F-15E, F-16) and/or Bombers (e.g. B-2, B-1) able to strike enemy ships?

I guess the recent British/French strike on Libyan vessels at port will not be the same as hitting ships at sea?

Or maybe it's safe to assume that for as long as missiles like the Harpoon are integrated to the AC, it can strike enemy ships? I don't know if there's any special requirement for radar/guidance to hit a ship at sea versus on land.


Mods: if this was a topic before, please lock/delete this. Thanks!
Click to expand...
A few British ships were sunk by dumb bombs during the Falklands War.
 
G

Gryphon

New Member
USAF B-52 Anti-Ship Test

I recall reading about a test where a B-52 attacked a dummy ship with LGB's from a few years back. Couldn't find the link yet, but I believe the ship was decisively hit. No surprises there, I'm sure the ship wasn't maneuvering. I'll keep looking for the link.
 
W

winnyfield

New Member
Gryphon said:
I recall reading about a test where a B-52 attacked a dummy ship with LGB's from a few years back. Couldn't find the link yet, but I believe the ship was decisively hit. No surprises there, I'm sure the ship wasn't maneuvering. I'll keep looking for the link.
Click to expand...
RAAF dropping 2x2000lb LGBs against a ship

[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQeWD6hm6Ak"]YouTube - ‪Pong Su Sunk by F-111‬‏[/nomedia]


Also, Maverick missiles can also be used against shipping.
http://www.f-16.net/f-16_armament_article4.html
 
K

kato

The Bunker Group
Verified Defense Pro
vivtho said:
(IIRC AGM-130s from Navy aircraft have been used in such a role in Desert Storm or the Tanker War)
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AGM-130 weren't around for either of them, and have never been used against ships.

Op Praying Mantis in '88 saw anti-ship use of AGM-123, Harpoons, Mk20 Rockeyes and a GBU-12, all of them exclusively by A-6E.
 
G

Gryphon

New Member
2000 pounders vs Cargo Ship

950 pounds of Tritonal does make an impression on just about any vessel, beautiful video.
 
G

Gryphon

New Member
Operation resultant fury

Found the link, a joint Navy and USAF operation in '04 where B-52's and B-1's were used to destroy multiple moving target ships. I saw where B-52's used JDAM's but didn't see where the B-1's were credited with anything but showing up:

www.ussschenectadylst1185.org/3-ResultantFury.htm
 
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