Giant bomb to be tested at Florida Air Force base

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- A conventional bomb so big that its first name is "massive" is set to be tested for the first time at this Florida Panhandle base today.

Air Force officials Monday warned residents of communities surrounding the western half of 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.

Here is the story from ABCNews:

Air Force to Test Big Conventional Bomb

Air Force to Test Biggest Conventional Bomb in U.S. Arsenal, With an Iraq War in Mind

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON March 11 —
The Air Force scheduled a test Tuesday of the biggest conventional bomb in the U.S. military's arsenal, a 21,000-pound munition that could play a dramatic role in an attack on Iraq.

The bomb, known as the Massive Ordnance Air Blast, or MOAB, is guided to its target by satellite signals. This was to be its first live test.

The bomb is so powerful that it's detonation was expected to create a mushroom cloud visible for miles.

Separately, the Pentagon's No. 2 official said in a speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars that if President Bush decides to invade Iraq, it will be a "war of liberation" as well as an effort to rid Iraq of weapons banned by the United Nations.

"Those very weapons are the source of our concern," said Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz. "The issue is not about Iraqi oil. If the United States had wanted access to Iraqi oil, we could have dropped our whole policy 12 years ago, lifted the sanctions and let Saddam Hussein have his weapons of mass destruction."

"No, if there's going to be a war, it will be a war to disarm Saddam's weapons of mass terror," he said. "But it will also be, like wars that you fought in, a war of liberation, a war to secure peace and freedom."

The U.S. military is putting the final pieces of combat power in place in anticipation of an order by Bush to attack Iraq and depose Saddam. More than 200,000 U.S. forces are now within striking range.

The Air Force bomb scheduled for its initial test Tuesday in Florida is much bigger than another conventional bomb. The next-biggest is the 15,000-pound BLU-82, dubbed the Daisy Cutter.

Jake Swinson, spokesman for the Air Armament Center at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., said there would be no onsite news coverage of the test for safety reasons, but an Air Force chase plane would take video that would be made available later to news organizations.

Other officials said the Air Force expected to have the bomb available for use in an Iraq war.

"If the warfighter wanted to use it, I'm sure we could make some available," Swinson said, adding that he had no information on whether or when the weapon might be used in combat.

Pentagon To Test 'Mother Of All Bombs' In Florida

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- The GIs call it the "Mother of All Bombs" -- and Pentagon officials hope it sends a message to Baghdad.

Tuesday, the Air Force will be conducting the first test of their biggest bang. Officials are warning residents near Eglin Air Force Base in Florida they may hear the explosion even from miles away.

The 21,000-pound bomb is called MOAB, for "massive ordinance air burst."

It's about 40 percent bigger than the so-called Daisy Cutter, which had been considered the world's most powerful non-nuclear bomb. Daisy Cutters had been used in Vietnam, the Gulf War and most recently in Afghanistan.

The new big mother could be ready for use action this year if Tuesday's test is successful.

I actually hope we DON'T use these in Iraq... once the newsies around the world get a hold of a photo of a mushroom cloud in Iraq, all hell breaks loose in diplomacy, in the media, in the hate-America-first crowd, within every terrorist and potential terrorist, and within everyone even slightly sympathetic to Saddam (or, more to the point, Muslims spoiling for a cause to kill Americans for). They couldn't care less if there'e any radioactivity involved... they've all been weaned on fear and control, and that image is the end-all-be-all mother-of-all fearful and controlling images.

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