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[UK] Army ‘vacuum’ missile hits Taliban
timesonline.co.uk ^ | June 22, 2008 | Michael Smith

Posted on 06/21/2008 3:45:28 PM PDT by Berlin_Freeper

Apache attack helicopters have fired the thermobaric weapons against fighters in buildings and caves, to create a pressure wave which sucks the air out of victims, shreds their internal organs and crushes their bodies.

...When it hits the target, the charge disperses the aluminium powder throughout the target building. The cloud then ignites, causing a massive secondary blast that tears throughout any enclosed space.

The blast creates a vacuum which draws air and debris back in, creating pressure of up to 430lb per sq in. The more heavily the building is protected, the more concentrated the blast.

...When the American military bought them in 2005, President George W Bush said: “There are going to be some awfully surprised terrorists when the thermobaric Hellfire comes knocking.”

(Excerpt) Read more at timesonline.co.uk ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: afghanistan; bang; boom; filletminion; miltech; taliban
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To: SeeSharp
What do conventional bombs do?

well.... they kill em more...conventionally.

41 posted on 06/21/2008 4:51:14 PM PDT by going hot (Happiness is a momma deuce)
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To: Berlin_Freeper

It sucks to be be a Taliban jihadist.


42 posted on 06/21/2008 4:51:21 PM PDT by Paleo Conservative (Drill Here. Drill Now. Pay Less.)
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To: ronnie raygun
They are already trying.

About a year ago, they came out against the shoulder-fired version, intended to clear hostiles from rooms in buildings, as being "anti-Muslim", since surprise, muzzies like to attack from among civilians, and therefore, it will end up being primarily used against the murdering practitioners of Islam.

If being able to minimize collateral damage when taking out terrorists, the lefties lose the propaganda talking point multiplier.

43 posted on 06/21/2008 4:51:30 PM PDT by Calvin Locke
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To: pabianice; magslinger
Those are Naval Flight Officer Wings but I like the thought.

Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)

LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)

44 posted on 06/21/2008 5:02:19 PM PDT by LonePalm (Commander and Chef)
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To: caseinpoint
Seems the crew put a stop to it by somehow screwing up the computers that “disinfected” the battles with the justification that if war becomes the horror it is meant to be, it will end sooner.

"The Prime Directive is a living document, Mr. Spock!"

45 posted on 06/21/2008 5:02:55 PM PDT by poindexter
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To: poindexter

I always thought the “Prime Directive” was stupid. They were constantly violating it except when it was mentioned.


46 posted on 06/21/2008 5:07:23 PM PDT by yarddog
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To: poindexter

Wow, you’re good.


47 posted on 06/21/2008 5:17:05 PM PDT by caseinpoint (Don't get thickly involved in thin things)
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To: yarddog

“I always thought the “Prime Directive” was stupid. They were constantly violating it except when it was mentioned.”


Yes. It really made no sense whatsoever. I figured it was only a way to say the U.S. was wrong whenever it did anything in the world.


48 posted on 06/21/2008 5:23:45 PM PDT by marktwain
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To: Bon mots

Some great vids on that link.


49 posted on 06/21/2008 5:27:19 PM PDT by mowowie
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To: Berlin_Freeper

Dayum. I’m trying to picture what this would look like to someone inside one of these buildings. Are we not the shizzle or what?


50 posted on 06/21/2008 5:49:14 PM PDT by radiohead (God helps those who help themselves - pray for Iowans and donate to the Salvation Army.)
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To: doorgunner69
Same principle, but sounds like this uses aluminum powder rather than liquid dispersal. The Military Channel had a good show about thermobaric explosives. Very violent blast effects

You could use just about any combustible power, grain mills, flour mills, and coal mines are all subject to dust explosions. The Nazi's developed a sort of "vortex" gun that expelled huge swirling clouds of flame, it was powered with coal dust. They found no practical use for them however.

Thermobaric explosives differ from conventional explosives in that they generate a shock-wave from the entire volume of the dispersed dust cloud whereas conventional explosives function as more or less a point source. The conventional shock-wave attenuates as an inverse square relationship and does not easily propagated around coroners. Because of these characteristics distance from the explosion serves to diminish the blast effects rapidly and passageways with coroners provide shielding from the direct blast. Thermobaric explosions overcome these shielding effects by spreading the explosive throughout the target before detonating.

IOW more "BANG" for the buck!

Regards,
GtG

51 posted on 06/21/2008 5:56:41 PM PDT by Gandalf_The_Gray (I live in my own little world, I like it 'cuz they know me here.)
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To: caseinpoint
A Taste of Armageddon, Season 1.
52 posted on 06/21/2008 6:01:40 PM PDT by dr_lew
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To: marktwain

I am not certain by any means but I always suspected it had something to do with making sure we didn’t think Western Civilization was superior to others such as cannibals and head hunters.


53 posted on 06/21/2008 6:25:08 PM PDT by yarddog
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To: Gandalf_The_Gray
I'm imagining coroners standing around acting as shields.

You've provided a very good description, but the coroner thing, very funny! (sorry :^) ).

54 posted on 06/21/2008 7:11:27 PM PDT by the anti-liberal (Write in: Fred Thompson)
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To: Bon mots

Damn... Nice strike! Thx for the link!


55 posted on 06/21/2008 7:31:54 PM PDT by navyguy (Some days you are the pigeon, some days you are the statue.)
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To: caseinpoint
"Wasn’t there a Star Trek episode about a couple of planets who were waging a sanitary war? People were still dying but it wasn’t so “messy”."

That's the war Klintoon conducted against Yugoslavia. No pictures of dead Serbs. Only tomatoe patch Albanian Maoist invader "mass graves". No dead Americans.

yitbos

56 posted on 06/21/2008 7:32:27 PM PDT by bruinbirdman ("Those who control language control minds." - Ayn Rand)
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To: ExTexasRedhead
"...Great weapon to dispose of Iranians when the time comes..."

Within four months. The secondaries are truely something to see .............. FRegards

57 posted on 06/21/2008 7:38:46 PM PDT by gonzo ( What Part Of "Shall Not Be Infringed" does anyone have a problem with? The USSC will soon wonder ..)
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To: fishergirl
"that same face, same hairstyle, same glasses! "


yitbos

58 posted on 06/21/2008 7:44:27 PM PDT by bruinbirdman ("Those who control language control minds." - Ayn Rand)
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To: Gandalf_The_Gray
The conventional shock-wave attenuates as an inverse square relationship and does not easily propagated around coroners.

Not good. How qualified do the coroners have to be? *\;-)

59 posted on 06/21/2008 9:08:22 PM PDT by sionnsar (trad-anglican.faithweb.com |Iran Azadi| 5yst3m 0wn3d - it's N0t Y0ur5 (SONY) | UN: Useless Nations)
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To: ExTexasRedhead; Old Sarge

Thank ExTxRh


60 posted on 06/22/2008 5:39:21 AM PDT by Arrowhead1952 (A vote for any Democrat from BO on down the ticket is a vote for $10 a gallon gas.)
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