Northrop Grumman Pitches 30,000-Pound Guided Bomb To Air Force

Drudge Report ^ | 12/14/2001 | Matt Drudge

[Pokey78]

Northrop Grumman has briefed Air Force officials on a concept to field a 30,000-pound guided weapon, called 'Big BLU,' that could be used as a penetrator to destroy hardened targets that may house enemy leaders or weapons of mass destruction, DEFENSE DAILY reported on Friday.

The proposal may gain favor with the Pentagon as the military tries to kill Al-Qaeda leaders holed up in Afghan caves. An Air Force official said, however, that the weapon will have significant cost and schedule hurdles associated with aircraft integration, is only a concept and is not envisioned for use during the Afghan conflict.

Developing...

[mvpel]

The daisy-cutter has integrated oxidizer, since it's too big to rely on the ambient air as an FAE does. Presumably this BLU (Bin-Laden to the Underworld) bomb would have the same issue.

-Michael Pelletier.

[Doomonyou]

Watch out for Big-BLU laden swallows.

Umm...African or European?

[Dallas]

Call it the "Rosie O'Donnell"

[Bill Rice]

They use know and use just the right proportions of LOX for a "stoichiometric detonation" (the maximum bang) on all these FAE's. That's why they're so devastating!

[Doctor Freeze]

Soon we will have "conventional" ordinance that cause as much damage as a nuke... without the bad publicity and negative attitudes associated with nukes.

[Bill Rice]

"Put fall-off take off gear on the bomb. Have the F-16's gear retracted! I offer this design solution free to my government in exchange for a VIP viewing of the first test."

I think the F15 might be better suited. Use JATO pods to conserve fuel. I wanna watch too!

[Paradox]

You probably could not make an effective FAE of this size, unless it was a composite FAE made up of multiple warheads (hmmmmm...). There are problems with dispersing that much aerosol and effectively igniting it. It will most likely be a Daisy Cutter type of charge. And it will be difficult to integrate it with an aircraft system, however, I propose a modified Boeing 767, should be able to handle about 15-20 of these suckers..

[Poohbah]

Stick a rocket motor on the back end of the bomb, that'll get the speed up...

[Diverdogz]

Another benefit: You won't have the lingering radiation effects.

[Doomonyou]

Why stop at 30,000 lbs.?

If these things get too big, might as well go with missles or a small nuke.

[Leisler]

The Free Republic Big BLU MK 2!
You're in! I'll be down front with the blonds. (We better get hats and jackets too!)

[Noumenon]

Candygram for Mr. bin Laden...

[PatrioticAmerican]

Call me sick, but, man, I would love to see one of those babies go off in a cave, and not just to get the Taliban, I just want to see one go boom! I have witnessed very large high-order test explosions go, but that 30K job in a cave would be a sight to behold!

[Tennessee_Bob]

Why stop at 30,000 lbs.?

They didn't. They've already gone the megaton route with a C-5. Back in the early/mid 70's, they did a test launch of a Minuteman missile from the back of a C-5. It was extracted by parachute, went vertical, and ignited.

[PatrioticAmerican]

Landshark! LOL!

[Leisler]

A-la Milo Minderbinder, I am issuing shares in the Free Republic Big BLU MK 2, (L.L.C), headquarters, South of France( summer ), Gstad ( winter). Who wants in?

[wolfoblitz]

well, nukes are a political lightning rod, and missiles, whether real or cruise, are very expensive. if reports are accurate, part of the appeal of the "Daisy Cutter" is that it only costs $27,000. supposedly, the really big ordinance creates a large "panic zone" where there's lots of enemy radio chatter to feed to US intellience. reportedly this happened in the Gulf War as well as in Afghanistan.

[jpsb]

If you really want a penetrator weapon, then you need either big naval guns or big artilery. As I recall a 16" naval gun can penetrate 160 ft of packed earth or 30 feet of reenforced concrete. So naval guns could rips Tora Bora to pieces in short order.

Now it is dificult to get naval guns into the mountains, but not all harden positions will be out of reach of naval guns. Bring back mighty Mo!keep

[Doomonyou]

I agree totally, from the political fallout point of view (no pun intended), but from a logistical standpoint, a tactical nuke gives more boom in a smaller, more easily delivered package.

[HEY4QDEMS]

A POPPY CUTTER???