Test of Massive Air Force Bomb Set for Tuesday at Eglin AFB (Florida)

AP ^

[Semper911]

Mar 10, 2003

Test of 'massive' Air Force Bomb Set for Tuesday at Eglin

The Associated Press

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (AP) - A conventional bomb so big that it's first name is "massive" is set to be tested for the first time at this Florida Panhandle base Tuesday.

Air Force officials Monday warned residents of communities surrounding the western half Eglin's 724-square-mile military reservation to be prepared to hear an explosion that sounds like thunder or a slamming door between noon and 5 p.m. CST although the blast will be miles away.

The loudness of the 21,000-pound "massive ordnance air burst," or MOAB, will vary depending on wind currents and some people may not hear it at all, Eglin officials said in a brief news release.

They added that the test will be conducted only under weather conditions best for minimizing the sound and inside a buffer zone to keep a shock wave and debris from the explosion inside Eglin's boundaries. The backup date for the test is Thursday during the same time frame.

MOAB is similar to but 40 percent heavier than the 15,000-pound BLU-82, billed as the world's most powerful non-nuclear bomb and known to send up a mushroom cloud similar to a nuclear weapon.

The BLU-82, nicknamed "daisy cutter," was developed during the Vietnam War to create jungle clearings for use as helicopter landing areas. It was most recently dropped in Afghanistan on caves where al-Qaida leaders were suspected of hiding.

In the Persian Gulf War, it was used to clear minefields. MOAB is expected to be ready for use this year if the test is successful.

Areas where civilians may be able to hear the blast are Mary Esther, Navarre, Holly, Holt and western Crestview.

[Semper911]

Florida Freepers! Go out and check it out. Give us a full report.

[TheRedSoxWinThePennant]

ROAD TRIP!!

[Mike-o-Matic]

Man, that's one BFB.

[Semper911]

ROAD TRIP!!

Yup, someone go out and warm up the FReepmobile.

Oh man, I would love to see that.

[John H K]

Unfortunately not a real dense seismic network in Florida for obvious reasons but there are a few....I'll check around the net to see if it registers...I'm sure it will in FL/AL/GA.

[mhking]

Talk about 'splash damage!'

"Hold muh beer 'n watch this!" PING....

If you want on or off this list, please let me know!

[justlurking]

ROAD TRIP!!

LMAO!

[per loin]

What good is this bomb if Cameroon won't give us their permission to ever use it?

[My Favorite Headache]

Driving Miss Daisy

[glock rocks]

big WOOF from above.

(new meaning from death by dawgs)

[Mo1]

THey can test it next here
Saddam's bunker bolthole
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/861630/posts

[New Horizon]

[Semper911]

I'll check around the net to see if it registers.

It has to register, doesn't it? As Mike-o-Matic so elequently said, it is one BFB.

[Semper911]

if Cameroon won't give us their permission

We don't need no stinking Cameroon.

[RobbyS]

The obvious: Why are they testing it now?

[Oldeconomybuyer]

Saddam blowed up.

[Beck_isright]

Why the hell are we making a crater in Florida? There's plenty of room to test this baby in downtown Paris.

[glock rocks]

oh, darlin.

[RobbyS]

This is a picture? What plane can carry it?

[duk]

That picture would look even better with Slim Pickens sitting on it.