U.S. Uses Huge Bomb Against Taliban Forces

Associated Press ^ | November 5, 2001 | staff

[Lady In Blue]

Nov 5, 2001

U.S. Uses Huge Bomb Against Taliban Forces

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) - With its use of the 15,000-pound "daisy cutter" bomb in Afghanistan, the United States has unleashed one of its most powerful weapons - billed as the world's largest conventional bomb.

The BLU-82 combines a watery mixture of ammonium nitrate and aluminum with air, then ignites the mist for a huge explosion that incinerates everything within up to 600 yards. The shock wave can be felt miles away.

The BLU-82 uses about six times the amount of ammonium nitrate explosive that Timothy McVeigh used in the bomb that blew up the Oklahoma City federal building in 1995.

First created during the Vietnam War to quickly clear jungle landing zones, the daisy cutter also was used against Iraqi troops during the Gulf War. Reports from the ground in Afghanistan indicate the huge bombs have been used against front-line Taliban positions.

The bombs cost about $27,000 each. They are dropped from a C-130 cargo plane flying at least 6,000 feet off the ground, to avoid the bomb's massive shock wave. Each is more than 17 feet long and 5 feet in diameter - about the size of a Volkswagen Beetle but far heavier.

AP-ES-11-05-01 2047EST

This story can be found at : http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGA6ASS1PTC.html

[Lady In Blue]

hahahahaha! What I want is for a few of those fire bombs to be dropped on the Taliban like I saw on Fox News Channel last Thursday night.WOW!

[Andy from Beaverton]

BLU-82 Commando Vault

The BLU-82B/C-130 weapon system, nicknamed Commando Vault, is the high altitude delivery of a 15,000 pound general purpose bomb from a C-130. This system depends upon the accurate positioning of the aircraft by either a fixed ground radar or onboard navigation equipment. The ground radar controller or aircrew navigator as applicable, is responsible for positioning the aircraft prior to final countdown and release. Primary aircrew considerations include accurate ballistic and wind computations provided by the navigator, and precision instrument flying with strict adherence to controller instructions. The minimum altitude for release due to blast effects of the weapon is 6,000 feet AGL.

The BLU-82 is a 15,000 pound GP bomb originally designed to clear helicopter landing zones in Vietnam. The warhead contains 12,600 pounds of GSX slurry and is detonated just above ground level by a 38-inch fuze extender. The weapon produces an overpressure of 1,000 pounds per square inch. Eleven BLU-82s were dropped during Desert Storm, all from Special Operations C-130s. The initial drops were intended to test the ability of the bomb to clear mines; no reliable bomb damage assessment exist on mine clearing effectiveness. Later, bombs were dropped as much for their psychological effect as for their destructive power.

Specifications
Class	15,000 lb. Blast/Fragmentation
Guidance	Ballistic
Control:
Autopilot:	None
Propulsion:	None
Weight (lb.)	15,000
Length (in)	141.6
Diameter (in)	54
Warhead (lbs.)	15,000
Explosive	Aluminum Powder (12,600 lbs.)
Fuze	M904 (Nose); M905 (Tail)
Unit Cost	$27,318
Aircraft	MC-130

Showing the devastation caused by a 15,000 lb (6800 kg) BLU-82B "Daisy Cutter"

The BLU-82/B (Big Blue 82) is a massive bomb containing 12,600 pounds (5715 kg) of DBA-22M, an aqueous mixture of ammonium nitrate, aluminum powder and polystyrene soap. The explosive power of this weapon is the closest thing to a nuclear blast with overpressures in excess of 1,000 pounds per in².

Dropped from specially modified C-130 aircraft to destroy minefields and create instant landing zones for helicopters the "Daisy Cutter" was, of course, quite lethal to personnel.

[Drew68]

The beautiful BLU-82

[sistergoldenhair]

Just showed a film of one exploding on Fox News. Impressive.

[jokemoke]

Question is: Why have they waited,until ,now to use them?

Well, they were waiting until the Taliban were in "hundled masses". The daisy cutter works better on large groups.

[Lady In Blue]

I guess so. And I might add that it's a good thing for the Taliban that it is!

[HoustonCurmudgeon]

FYI KSEV AM 700 in Houston just sold 2,000 CD's @ $10.00 each in 26 hours. The $20,000 will buy one JDAM bomb. The check will be delivered by the winner of a drawing from among those who bought a CD.

[Bobsat]

Good news! Thanks for posting it. However in Vietnam, they were dropped from much higher than 6,000 feet with a parachute attached. It wouldn't be much fun for the C-130 to get caught in the shockwave from that thing....

[Clinton's a liar]

"$27,000? Where do we send our money to?"

Okay, you gave me a really strange idea -- entities/corporations raise/donate money to buy these daisy-cutters for the military. Place "your logo here" -- on the side of the bomb! LOL

[unamused]

Kenworth......

[Atlas Sneezed]

Two bucks a pound!

I wouldn't imagined that the military procures ANYTHING that cheap!

[Lady In Blue]

I don't know.Maybe they're just now getting the "daisy cutters" or maybe they think now is the right time.I trust this administration and one thing is for sure,they know better than me how to conduct this war.I mean,I never been in a war,let alone had any training or experience in war strategy.

[dep]

yup. i saw a calculated yield on the order of 7.5 kilotons, meaning we're getting a thousand pounds of tnt per pound of this thing. as firecrackers go, a good'n.

dep

[lds23]

Why not take some of that charity money raised by the stars to buy more of these things. I'd think it would help the families here to know the money was being used to get the b@stards that did this to them.

[Senator Pardek]

That's no bargain. The military can purchase 400 hammers or toilet seats for the same price.

[Lady In Blue]

Yep! hehehe!

[ninonitti]

But we've got the biggest bombs of them all!!!!

[Riley]

$27,000? Where do we send our money to?

Do we have any Freepers at DoD? We could start a fundraising effort to buy and have delivered a FreeRepublic.bomb .

[anniegetyourgun]

And I like your screenname!

[pbear8]

Place "your logo here" -- on the side of the bomb!

ROTFLOL. I love the capitalist spirit!!