Article

2003-02-26 Iraq

âMassive Ordnance Air-burstâ Bomb Set to Go if War Begins

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Posted by Steve 2003-02-26 06:27 pm|| || Front Page|| [3 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#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|| [blogmetender.blogspot.com] 2003-02-26 18:06:54|| Front Page Top

#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|| 2003-02-26 18:52:29|| Front Page Top

#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|| 2003-02-26 19:39:43|| Front Page Top

#4 Maybe MOAB ought to go to the NWFP, PDQ.

Posted by Anonymous 2003-02-26 20:42:55|| 2003-02-26 20:42:55|| Front Page Top

#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|| 2003-02-26 14:40:21|| Front Page Top

#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|| 2003-02-26 15:09:12|| Front Page Top

#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|| 2003-02-26 15:21:28|| Front Page Top

#8 But don't they still need volume to disperse to be effective?

Posted by Dar Steckelberg 2003-02-26 15:32:59|| 2003-02-26 15:32:59|| Front Page Top

#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|| 2003-02-26 15:37:54|| Front Page Top

#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|| [blog.simmins.org] 2003-02-26 15:41:35|| Front Page Top

#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|| 2003-02-26 15:45:48|| Front Page Top

#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|| 2003-02-26 15:50:02|| Front Page Top

#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|| 2003-02-26 16:38:49|| Front Page Top

#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|| 2003-02-26 22:47:21|| Front Page Top

#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|| 2003-02-27 07:28:19|| Front Page Top

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