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| Iraq |
| ‘Massive Ordnance Air-burst’ Bomb Set to Go if War Begins |
| 2003-02-26 |
| ABC News story, blah, blah, then they get to the good stuff: When and if the United States does go to war, military sources say the United States is preparing a monster new weapon to be used during the first nights. Ooooh, monster weapons! It's called MOAB, short for "massive ordnance air burst" bomb. It is a modern, bigger version of the 15,000-pound "Daisy Cutter" used in Vietnam, the Persian Gulf War and Afghanistan. Sources say MOAB — still experimental — is a 21,000-pound bomb that will be pushed out the back of a C-130 transport and guided by satellite. I can just picture a Herky bird squeezing this puppy out the back door. Bet it looks like it's taking a big dump. Because it is not dropped by parachute, as was the old Daisy Cutter, the aircraft can let it go from far higher altitudes, making it safer for U.S. pilots. Herk pilots will like that. The MOAB's massive explosive punch, sources say, is similar to a small nuclear weapon. A very, very small one, but we get the point. It is intended to obliterate a command center hidden in tunnels and bunkers or a concentration of Iraqi tanks. If it's a air burst weapon, I can't see it doing too much to buried command centers. Anybody on the surface will be toast. Wonder if you can set the fuse to go off underground? Whatever the target, it must be far from cities where civilians might be hurt. ABC is worried about civilians. But one important aspect of using this type of weapon, sources say, will be psychological impact on enemy troops. It is intended to terrorize Iraqi troops, drastically reducing their desire to continue the fight. Ah, no, it's intended to kill large numbers of Iraqi troops. That will drastically reduce the desire to fight of anybody left alive. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #15 They way it would work on a bunker is it would suck all the O2 out killing every one inside.Works the same for apc's and tanks not destroyed by blast and heat. |
| Posted by: raptor 2003-02-27 07:28:19 |
| #14 "This weapon is almost certainly not needed. The regular Iraqi will be surrendering within a few hours of the beginning of a war." Well, one extra reason to do so wouldn't hurt. |
| Posted by: Crescend 2003-02-26 22:47:21 |
| #13 Assuming it is just a larger version of the airburst bombs used in the past, the biggest and/or worse portion of the blast is the overpressure -- that is what is comperable to a small atomic blast. That can collapse bunkers, tunnels, etc. With one that big it has got to develop a trendouse amount of overpressure. |
| Posted by: Sam 2003-02-26 16:38:49 |
| #12 All ABC cares is it's big, and it makes a big boom. And don't think they won't kill for the footage the first time we drop one. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2003-02-26 15:50:02 |
| #11 I agree with Mike - it was probably written by a reporter who doesn't really know what he's talking about. |
| Posted by: JDR 2003-02-26 15:45:48 |
| #10 How about it creates a vacuum that might exhaust the air from bunkers? Or, overpressure caving them in? Just a thought. |
| Posted by: Chuck 2003-02-26 15:41:35 |
| #9 "It is intended to obliterate a command center hidden in tunnels and bunkers . . ." Maybe it can be fused to act as a ground-penetrator along the lines of the old Barnes Wallis "earthquake bombs" -- the famed "Grand Slam" and "Tallboy" dropped from RAF Lancasters in WWII. Or maybe the ABC reporter doesn't know what he's talking about. |
| Posted by: Mike 2003-02-26 15:37:54 |
| #8 But don't they still need volume to disperse to be effective? |
| Posted by: Dar Steckelberg 2003-02-26 15:32:59 |
| #7 FAEs like ethylene oxide take their oxigen with them. Their flammable limits are like 2% to 100% fuel/air ratio. Now there is some hazmat! I am glad that they've got the delivery system perfected. I would hate to be on a herc crew with a jam going out the door. Bad moment...no pun intended! |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2003-02-26 15:21:28 |
| #6 If it's a air burst weapon, I can't see it doing too much to buried command centers. Anybody on the surface will be toast. Wonder if you can set the fuse to go off underground? Can't see that as a possibility, considering the FAE needs oxygen as fuel and area to disperse for the vapor to be most effective. |
| Posted by: Dar Steckelberg 2003-02-26 15:09:12 |
| #5 Steve, your translation of the fifth and last sentance from ABC-idiot-blather to basic English is perfect. Thanks! |
| Posted by: Scooter McGruder 2003-02-26 14:40:21 |
| #4 Maybe MOAB ought to go to the NWFP, PDQ. |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2003-02-26 20:42:55 |
| #3 This weapon is almost certainly not needed. The regular Iraqi will be surrendering within a few hours of the beginning of a war. The Republican Guard won't last more than a day. The special guard and the security forces may hold out but they won't mass in one place. |
| Posted by: mhw 2003-02-26 19:39:43 |
| #2 And both the weapon and your city are probably from the Biblical Moab, son of Lot. It literally means either "from the father" (refering to Lot) or "beautiful land" (an odd name for a daisy cutter). |
| Posted by: Just John 2003-02-26 18:52:29 |
| #1 MOAB - great acronym. I live in Moab, Utah. This makes me proud. There's a "monster new weapon" named after my hometown! |
| Posted by: J. Michael Krause 2003-02-26 18:06:54 |