CBSNews.com: US Drops E-Bomb on Iraqi TV

CBSNews.com ^ | March 25, 2003 | David Martin

[mikegi]

(CBS) The U.S. Air Force blasted Iraqi TV with an experimental electronmagetic pulse device called the "E-Bomb" in an attempt to knock it off the air and shut down Saddam Hussein's propaganda machine, CBS News Correspondent David Martin reports.

The highly classified bomb creates a brief pulse of microwaves powerful enough to fry computers, blind radar, silence radios, trigger crippling power outages and disable the electronic ignitions in vehicles and aircraft.

Iraqi TV did go off the air for several hours. It returned to broadcasting later with a weaker signal.

[mikegi]

Well, it kinda worked.

[AM2000]

Well, that sucked.

[rhombus]

Just the first experiment.

[leadhead]

Now drop the "E-nough" Bomb

[Spruce]

Just testing. Next one will do the trick.

[Sacajaweau]

It was a "small fry".

[Ruger1099]

Time to drop the H-bomb.

[Dog Gone]

David Martin gives no source for this report. It might have been from his sister for all we know.

[bcoffey]

"David Martin gives no source for this report. It might have been from his sister for all we know."

Yep, I noticed this, too.

[HAL9000]

It sounds like the transmitter was probably destroyed, but Saddam probably has several replacement units, so it may take several e-bombs to get him off the air for good.

[TheLooseThread]

Why do people talk like it didn't work? It sounds like it took out the main transmitter and they had to switch to a physically separate and less powerfull transmitter.

One more ought to do it.

[Mr. Lucky]

She has probably spent a lot more time with the troops than David has anyway.

[teletech]

If that WAS an E-bomb that took state run Iraqi TV off the air, they need to turn up the power. I heard its BACK on the air! HIT THE DAMN THING!

[sam_paine]

No. It apparently worked very well, but I'm dubious that that's what really happened. If it did, then they hauled out a backup transmitter (from the basement?) and that might explain the subsequent weaker power output.

I still think it's all Babs Streisand, though.

[Ronin]

I'm thinking if this E-bomb was used, it is probably designed to with a "dial-a-yield" and set at a lower output to avoid frying the electronics of the entire city -- which obviously we are going to need later.

These things are pretty scary. You only have to look around the room you are in now and count all the electronic devices that would turn into so much junk if hit by an emp to get an idea of how damaging to infrastructure a big one could be.

[FReepaholic]

>>...US Drops E-Bomb on Iraqi TV...<<

I thought ALL bombs were E-bombs.

When they fall from the sky, they go: EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEBOOM!!!

[Spruce]

I'm thinking that they had it "dialed-down" to the lowest setting in order to avoid cooking the civilians around the station. The next one will be set to "2".

[bcoffey]

" It sounds like it took out the main transmitter . . ."

Not likely. A multi-kilowatt transmitter is made to generate lots of RF power and would be fairly hard to knock out. The low-level signal electronics, on the other hand, would be more likely to fry.

[Dog Gone]

She has probably spent a lot more time with the troops than David has anyway.

Oh man, that was brutal. BWAAAAAHAHAHAHAHA

[Mobilemitter]

Wonder how long they can keep someone peddaling that bicycle.... :^)