We tested one of these things today in Florida, near Eglin AFB in the Panhandle. I've yet to see footage (& we REALLY wanted to see footage at work! We were chanting for footage!) but they say that residents were notified to expect a sound like thunder or "a door slamming" during the day.
Like its 15,000-pound Vietnam-era cousin the "Daisy Cutter," the 21,000-pound MOAB is a fuel-air explosive that ignites a mist in the air much like napalm. It's the biggest conventional (i.e., non-nuclear) ordnance package in history & yes, we're told it DOES leave a mushroom cloud.
Now, I'm not up on my Bible, but I do remember there being a town called Moab mentioned it in. Is there any kind of wonderful ironies that we can draw from it? Like, did they smite people as servants of the Chosen People of God or something?
Posted by Vogon Poet (Member # 393) on :
It's when they start to develop weapons with acronyms like 'SODOM' and 'GOMORRAH' that we should begin to worry. 8)
Posted by Omega (Member # 91) on :
There's also a small town called Moab that's complaining about the thing. Can't imagine why.
The original Moab was a region east of the Dead Sea, north of Edom, and south of trans-Jordanic Ruben. They certainly weren't Jews, but I don't think they had too much trouble with Israel. Could be wrong.
Posted by Reverend (Member # 335) on :
"What did God do to the Sodomites?"
"I don't know but it couldn't have been much worse than what they did to each other." Posted by Da_bang80 (Member # 528) on :
21,000 pounds? The Grand Slam Bomb from world war two was 20,000 pounds. Does a fuel-air bomb do more damage than a conventional bomb, due to the fact that it explodes in midair?
Posted by First of Two (Member # 16) on :
They SAY that MOAB stands for "Massive Ordnance Air-Burst," but I don't believe them.
Mother Of All Bombs.
By the way, although the "Grand Slam" weighed 22,000 lbs, I belive the MOAB's "poundage" is in its "warhead," and the GS's warhead was only 9,135 lb. But my data could be in error.
Re; Moab as placename... wasn't there a Moab IV in TNG? "Masterpiece Society?"
Posted by Nim (Member # 205) on :
Is this thing like the ones from "Outbreak"? And the "Bunker Buster"?
Posted by Saltah'na (Member # 33) on :
AFAIK, it is a compressed hydrogen bomb in Outbreak.
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
"It was last used in Afghanistan as a weapon of fear..."
There's some bad wording, considering that "fear" is synonymous w/ "terror". Can't be admitting to using "weapons of terror", can we?
And isn't 21 000lbs. a little weak, in comparison to nuclear warheads? 10.5 tons isn't much compared to multiple megatons.
Posted by Vogon Poet (Member # 393) on :
Nope, that was a FAE bomb in Outbreak. Or at least the one used in Africa was.
Posted by Timo (Member # 245) on :
Isn't that what "compressed hydrogen bomb" means? Or would that be what you get when you run over a W-61 with a steamroller?
Admittedly, dense hydrogen might not be the best possible fuel for a FAE, but for Hollywood technobabble it sounds all right.
Timo Saloniemi
Posted by Vogon Poet (Member # 393) on :
Maybe. "Compressed Hydrogen Bomb" sounds more like some Trek superweapon. As in, a hydrogen bomb that's been compressed, or something.
Posted by CaptainMike (Member # 709) on :
in Trek, it would be a weapon created when they compress the rocks of hydrogen ore they mine on distant planets.
Posted by Kosh (Member # 167) on :
quote:Originally posted by Vogon Poet: Maybe. "Compressed Hydrogen Bomb" sounds more like some Trek superweapon. As in, a hydrogen bomb that's been compressed, or something.
Maybe it was having a bad day, and was really a Depressed Hydrogen Bomb.
quote: "What did God do to the Sodomites?"
"I don't know but it couldn't have been much worse than what they did to each other."
LOL!!
Posted by Daryus Aden (Member # 12) on :
Just out of curiosity, what type of targets would this be suitable for. Apart from say, a city?
Posted by Futurama Guy (Member # 968) on :
deep sea fishing...
...this MOAB would be ideal if you wanted to start removing mountains or breaking up the icecap...
...actually I would start to worry if they decided to go back to the ole neutron bomb...
Posted by Grokca (Member # 722) on :
WOW! big thing go boom
Posted by Wraith (Member # 779) on :
Ahhh, yes the neutron bomb. kills everyone but leaves most of the buildings still standing. Designed by a fan of architecture with no mates.
Posted by newark (Member # 888) on :
In the Bible, Moab was the land of Ruth who converted to Judaism and had many children. One of her descendents would be King David, and many generations later Jesus Christ. For those religiously inclined, these are some very strong indicators found in our administration's belief in the role of G-d in blessing our missionary role for the crying masses for democracy, freedom, blah, blah in the Middle East.
Our family thinks the MOAB will be used on the large palaces of President Hussein. They sit on many acres of ground and the collateral damage would be minor.
Posted by Timo (Member # 245) on :
OTOH, as potential stashes of bioweapon technology, they probably won't be bombed at all. According to the advertised version of rules of engagement anyway. And no, a FAE won't do much good as a sterilizing measure - lots and lots of napalm would be more effective.