During Baltops exercise, U.S. Air Force B-52s have also conducted mine-laying mission off the coasts of Sweden, simulating a counter-marine invasion mission.
U.S. Air Force B-52H strategic bombers deployed to RAF Fairford, UK, used inert MK-62 Quick Strike Mines with MK-15 tail fins to train and test the aircrew’s ability to precisely drop munitions into a target zone during Baltops exercise.
The two Stratofortresses were each loaded with 9 inert mines built by minemen from the Navy Munitions Command Unit Charleston and Airmen from the 5th Munitions Squadron out of Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota.
The B-52 used the bombs to simulate a mission against ships supporting a naval invasion near Ravlunda, Sweden, on the Baltic Sea.
The Mk-62 mines is a Mk-82 500-lb general purpose bomb fitted with a Fin Mk 15, Fin BSU-86/B, or Tail Section Mk 16 and dropped by either a B-52H (or a B-1B – that is also capable to drop JDAMs on naval targets) at high-speed and low altitude (around 1,000 feet). Once in the water, the mine uses an MK57 Target Detection Device (TDD) to detect a ship passing above: basically, it can detect the vessel by pressure of the ship on the water, by magnetism of the ship’s metal or vibration caused by the ship.
Image credit: U.S. Air Force
