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U.S. Drops Thermobaric Bomb on Afghan Caves
FOX News Alert ^ | March 2, 2002 | Diane Diamond

Posted on 03/02/2002 1:41:41 PM PST by codebreaker

Developing..new weapon system has been used


TOPICS: Breaking News; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
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To: mware
Ping me to that Sunday Talking heads show.... and when I get in I can see what happened..
41 posted on 03/02/2002 2:01:45 PM PST by Dog
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To: codebreaker
U.S. Drops Thermobaric Bomb on Afghan Caves

LOL!

42 posted on 03/02/2002 2:02:20 PM PST by putupon
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To: mware
When you go to church tomorrow say a prayer for our guys......the battle is still raging as we speak ....so says MSNBC..
43 posted on 03/02/2002 2:03:28 PM PST by Dog
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To: KevinDavis
well, if the enemy are in a cave, it will suck all the oxygen out of the air and they will die!
44 posted on 03/02/2002 2:03:28 PM PST by ruoflaw
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To: Lockbox
As FOX is explaining this, the Fuel to Air bomb BUL 188 has a delayed fuse with the laser guiding from the F15 so it rolls down the cave.

After it goes as far as it can in the cave it detonates-sucking all oxygen out of the cave.

45 posted on 03/02/2002 2:03:39 PM PST by codebreaker
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To: codebreaker
Here is something I found on the subject: (Note LTTE = "Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam," the Sri Lankan terrorists):

This is what an account in the Jane's Land Forces has to say:

"Russia is currently the world leader in thermobaric weapons, and has already used them in action, for example to clearing Mujahideen from caves in Afghanistan and more recently Chechen guerrillas from buildings in Grozny. There were international protests over their use since a large number of civilians were affected in these instances.

"The Russian RPG – 7 (Note: this also is a weapon used by the LTTE) thermobaric warhead, fired from a manportable rocket-launcher, is said to produce effects comparable to the detonation of 2 kg of TNT, while the effects of the Russian RPO-A Shmel rocket-propelled incendiary / blast projectile are reportedly similar to those produced by a 122 mm howitzer projectile. (Note: 122 mm howitzers are used both by the Army and the Tiger guerrillas).

46 posted on 03/02/2002 2:04:27 PM PST by xm177e2
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To: ruoflaw
I'll bet there's a lot of stuff around those caves that looks similar to camel droppings, but smaller.
47 posted on 03/02/2002 2:05:02 PM PST by concerned about politics
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Oops. Stupid new format screws up with italics if they're not in the first paragraph...

Here is something I found on the subject: (Note LTTE = "Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam," the Sri Lankan terrorists):

This is what an account in the Jane's Land Forces has to say:

"Russia is currently the world leader in thermobaric weapons, and has already used them in action, for example to clearing Mujahideen from caves in Afghanistan and more recently Chechen guerrillas from buildings in Grozny. There were international protests over their use since a large number of civilians were affected in these instances.

"The Russian RPG – 7 (Note: this also is a weapon used by the LTTE) thermobaric warhead, fired from a manportable rocket-launcher, is said to produce effects comparable to the detonation of 2 kg of TNT, while the effects of the Russian RPO-A Shmel rocket-propelled incendiary / blast projectile are reportedly similar to those produced by a 122 mm howitzer projectile. (Note: 122 mm howitzers are used both by the Army and the Tiger guerrillas).

48 posted on 03/02/2002 2:05:18 PM PST by xm177e2
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To: Lurker
""On my command, unleash Hell."

With your permission, I'm going to put this in my "Man, I wish I'D have thought to post that!" file.

49 posted on 03/02/2002 2:06:47 PM PST by RightOnline
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To: xm177e2
So the Russian have made these man portable.....we need to buy some...:-)
50 posted on 03/02/2002 2:07:00 PM PST by Dog
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To: Dog
I ain't waiting for tomorrow to say a prayer for our folks in harms way.
51 posted on 03/02/2002 2:07:07 PM PST by mware
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To: codebreaker
I guess we should start saving now for the Thermobaric lawsuits in 30/40 years.
52 posted on 03/02/2002 2:08:21 PM PST by Deb
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To: codebreaker

US Warplanes Drop Pressure Bombs in Afghan Battle

March 02, 2002 04:53 PM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. warplanes on Saturday dropped two extremely accurate, 2,000-pound "thermobaric" bombs into caves in eastern Afghanistan where al Qaeda and Taliban fighters were believed to be hiding, U.S. defense officials said.

The recently developed American bombs are filled with a special explosive mixture that creates a high-pressure blast, driving all of the air out of a cave and potentially suffocating those inside.

The defense officials, who asked not to be identified, told Reuters that two of the bombs were used in support of a major attack by Afghan forces and both U.S. and other coalition troops against regrouping al Qaeda and Taliban south of Gardez in eastern Afghanistan.

Only a very few of the bombs, which use a mixture of fuel in their explosive and recently have been equipped with laser designators to allow them to penetrate cave openings, have been used in the war. The bombs create major air pressure while causing little physical damage.


BLU-118/B Thermobaric Weapon

53 posted on 03/02/2002 2:09:09 PM PST by michigander
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To: Lurker
Sounds like cleanup time is in full force!
54 posted on 03/02/2002 2:09:45 PM PST by codebreaker
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To: codebreaker
I'll bet you were pretty close in your previous description of the weapon.IMHO

Projectiles for bombs, missles, and artillery are divided into many different types according to use.

If you want to take out a building, bridge, radar site, etc, you would use a high explosive projectile designed to inflict maximum physical damage.

If the job calls for taking out troop posistions, projectiles packed with thousands of 1/2" dia. steel shot and equipped with a altimeter switch,(Causes it to explode 20 feet of the ground) would be a good choice.

When trying to attack a fortified posistion deep in a cave, conventional high explosive bombs are really of no use. The Thermobaric bomb probably is somekind of fuel/air, with the intent of removing oxygen(as you stated earlier). It would have to be a laser guided to get it in the small openings of the caves.

However, I still feel nothing short of a cave search, which will be bloody, will bring the Alqueda out.

55 posted on 03/02/2002 2:09:59 PM PST by Vigilantcitizen
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To: concerned about politics
I bet you are right!
56 posted on 03/02/2002 2:10:34 PM PST by ruoflaw
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To: codebreaker
Sounds like a daisy cutter for the new millennium. I like the dry understatement here:

The BLU-114B was successfully tested at the Nevada Test Site on 14 December 2001, when it was dropped from an F-15E attack aircraft. During the test a laser-guided bomb was "skipped" into a tunnel and exploded with a delayed fuze, which produced a significant growth in overpressure and temperature in the tunnel.

57 posted on 03/02/2002 2:12:48 PM PST by New Zealander
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To: all; codebreaker
It seems that in the time that it took me to type and post, and take the dog out, everybody has already found out.

Dem Freepers are fast, ain't they?

58 posted on 03/02/2002 2:15:04 PM PST by Vigilantcitizen
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To: Lurker
The kool thing is, "Hell" was the name of Gladiator's dog in that battle.
59 posted on 03/02/2002 2:15:09 PM PST by Deb
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To: codebreaker
. . .or, the WTC.
60 posted on 03/02/2002 2:15:23 PM PST by ScholarWarrior
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