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U.S. Uses Huge Bomb Against Taliban Forces
Associated Press ^
| November 5, 2001
| staff
Posted on 11/05/2001 5:47:46 PM PST by Lady In Blue
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To: doug from upland
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!
To: Lady In Blue
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.
The beautiful BLU-82
43
posted on
11/05/2001 6:05:44 PM PST
by
Drew68
To: Lady In Blue
Just showed a film of one exploding on Fox News. Impressive.
To: auggy
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.
45
posted on
11/05/2001 6:06:02 PM PST
by
jokemoke
To: TomGuy
I guess so. And I might add that it's a good thing for the Taliban that it is!
To: Nuke'm Glowing
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.
To: Lady In Blue
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....
48
posted on
11/05/2001 6:07:37 PM PST
by
Bobsat
To: Nuke'm Glowing; Kevin Curry
"$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
To: ExSoldier
Kenworth......
50
posted on
11/05/2001 6:08:07 PM PST
by
unamused
To: Kevin Curry
Two bucks a pound!
I wouldn't imagined that the military procures ANYTHING that cheap!
To: auggy
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.
To: blam
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
53
posted on
11/05/2001 6:09:35 PM PST
by
dep
To: Lady In Blue
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.
54
posted on
11/05/2001 6:09:38 PM PST
by
lds23
To: Kevin Curry
That's no bargain. The military can purchase 400 hammers or toilet seats for the same price.
To: CWOJackson
Yep! hehehe!
To: Tony in Hawaii
But we've got the biggest bombs of them all!!!!
To: Nuke'm Glowing
$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 .
58
posted on
11/05/2001 6:14:18 PM PST
by
Riley
To: deathtoallterrorists
And I like your screenname!
To: Clinton's a liar
Place "your logo here" -- on the side of the bomb!ROTFLOL. I love the capitalist spirit!!
60
posted on
11/05/2001 6:14:56 PM PST
by
pbear8
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