Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

MOAB - Son of Daisy Cutter
StrategyPage.com ^ | 27 Feb 03 | StrategyPage.com

Posted on 02/27/2003 4:21:08 PM PST by 11B3

February 27, 2003: The U.S. Air Force is developing a new, 2nd generation, ten ton Fuel Air Explosive (FAS) bomb. It will replace the older "Daisy Cutter" FAS bomb developed during the 1960s. This was a 7.5 ton Fuel Air Explosive for clearing landing zones in the Vietnam jungle. Fuel Air Explosives work by dropping a bomb that is actually a large aerosol dispenser. When the FAS "explodes" it first dispenses a large cloud of flammable material (anything like gasoline or propane will work). The cloud is then ignited and huge explosion results. There's one drawback, the size and density of the aerosol cloud depends a lot on the wind, air temperature and humidity. So the power of the explosion will vary a lot.

The new FAS bomb, called MOAB (Massive Ordnance Air Burst) gets around some of these problems by borrowing (or licensing) from Russia research in this area. Russia has developed more effective aerosol materials and produced a wide range of FAS (or "termobaric", as they like to call them) weapons. In dry, dusty conditions, the Daisy Cutter produces a mushroom cloud similar to that created by a nuclear explosion (and for the same reason, the sheer size of the explosion creates an upward pull that sends up a "mushroom" of smoke and dust on a column of smoke).

In addition to a more reliable and powerful explosion, MOAB doesn’t need a parachute, like the Daisy Cutter, but uses a GPS (like JDAM) and an aerodynamic body to detonate the bomb at a precise area. Thus the MOAB can be dropped from a higher altitude (like outside the range of machine-guns and rifles). Like the Daisy Cutter, MOAB is shoved out the back of a cargo aircraft (usually a C-130, but since the MOAB uses GPS and higher altitude drops, the C-17 can probably be used as well.)

MOAB is a highly destructive and terrifying weapon. If used in Iraq, it would demoralize any Iraqi troops in the vicinity who survived the explosion. The force of a MOAB explosion is sufficient to knock over tanks and kill any people within several hundred meters of the detonation.

After the 1991 Gulf War, the United States started to get rid of it's various FAS weapons. But some were left in the inventory when the Afghanistan came along and the success of Daisy Cutters there, plus the new Russian research in FAS weapons, led to the new American research effort.


TOPICS: Announcements; Extended News; Foreign Affairs; Free Republic; Front Page News; Government; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: daiseycutter; miltech; moab; moabbomb; setusupthebomb
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-44 next last
To: Utah Girl
The Moab peaceniks will be in any event, though I haven't seen it mentioned yet in their local paper. On a hopeful note, last weeks TIMES-INDEPENDENT saw pro-Bush, pro-military letters to the editor out numbering those from useful idiots by a margin of three to one. A nice change from what it's been since last fall. Amazing how much noise a relatively small number of people can make.

BTW, the libs in Moab are disconcerted by many things just now. They lost all three Commissioners races in the last election and are (shudder) suddenly threatened with new roads and increased development. Now if they can just do something about that lefty City government.

21 posted on 02/27/2003 6:50:27 PM PST by Reverend Bob (Who now owns land in Moab -- but OUTSIDE the "city" limits.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Reverend Bob
The Moab mayor is whining in this SL Trib article, big time about the Air Force naming this bomb MOAB. (I love the area around Moab.) Weapon's Name Bombs in Utah City
22 posted on 02/27/2003 6:57:49 PM PST by Utah Girl
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 21 | View Replies]

To: Centurion2000
Now we just need to convert a few 747's that can carry about TEN of the suckers at a time and do a big line drop over troops and tanks.

But-but-but----don't we need France's permission first? And what about an Environmental Impact Report, huh? And what about those human shields--don't they have moms and pets and stuff? And what would Sean Penn say..........

23 posted on 02/27/2003 7:15:36 PM PST by Hebrews 11:6 (Look it up!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 20 | View Replies]

To: Utah Girl
Thanks for the link. Sakrison oversees a very liberal "city" government (only about half of Moab is actually within the city limits). His City Manager even signed the "Not In Our Name" petition last fall. Langianese is one of the old County Council holdovers (only 3 of 7 were up in the last election) and is now voting in the minority.

As to Moab's name: No one is really sure of it's true historic derivation. I still think it was the result of someone with a wicked sense of humor.

"Let's call it Moab, it's Biblical!"

"Uh, OK"

Later, when they figured out that Moab was the illegitimate son of Lot and one of his daughters, and the patriarch of a race that were perpetual enemies of the Israelites, some killjoy tried to change the name. Luckily, by then, inertia had set in and the name stuck.

Personally I quite like the place and spent ten days there earlier this month. I was psyched to freep an anti-war rally while I was there, but I couldn't find one, so I went hiking and rock climbing instead. The town's biggest weakness is that it's two bookstores are both HARD left. You can get THE NATION and MOTHER JONES, but not NR and THE WEEKLY STANDARD.

24 posted on 02/27/2003 7:32:31 PM PST by Reverend Bob (Give War A Chance)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 22 | View Replies]

To: 11B3
If things turn into combat in cities for Baghdad, this one would change their minds in a real hurry.

It won't happen in Baghdad. I read yesterday the planes will have real time video cameras on board to show that they are hitting military targets and not civilians. If they are used it will be against strictly military targets and possibly as "scare the s**t" out of the Iraqi troops. Which going by Persian Gulf war won't take much. Let's see how many surrender to drones.
25 posted on 02/27/2003 9:10:15 PM PST by jwh_Denver
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Utah Girl
And surely a lot of Schwinn owners...
26 posted on 02/27/2003 9:30:09 PM PST by Aaron_A
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: 11B3
Images of the New MOAB Weapon from: StrategyPage.com




27 posted on 02/27/2003 10:17:02 PM PST by polemikos
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: 11B3
This and the EMP weapons and other things should be used heavily and right away to dissuade Saddam from thinking that we are going to play by the Queensbury Rules. Lately I have been fearful that Hussein has decided to drink the hemlock and adhere to a scorched earth policy. It is important that we create new nightmare imagery for the bastard. Make a god-fearing man out of him as it were.
We are really hanging out there now. We have to be breathtakingly scary. Anything less will invite a world (literally) of hurt.
28 posted on 02/27/2003 11:58:00 PM PST by thegreatbeast (Quid lucrum istic mihi est?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: thegreatbeast
jeeze, i am thousands of miles away -- and it scares the bejesus out of me....
29 posted on 02/28/2003 2:06:52 AM PST by Irishguy (League of Nations (version 1.1 BETA) currently in user testing...problems reported)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 28 | View Replies]

To: 11B3
I'll pay good money for the video of one them hitting a "Presidential Palace".
30 posted on 02/28/2003 5:15:33 AM PST by Semper Paratus
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Irishguy
It gives me a stiffy!
31 posted on 02/28/2003 11:52:21 AM PST by enraged (Round 'em up and shut 'em down!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 29 | View Replies]

To: Utah Girl

This Buds for you, "Sadam" (GB Sr. use to say)

32 posted on 02/28/2003 11:57:05 AM PST by bmwcyle (Semper Gumby - Always Flexable)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: NY.SS-Bar9

Hey Saddam! Meet Daisy.


33 posted on 02/28/2003 11:59:46 AM PST by CholeraJoe
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: thegreatbeast
You will be able to feel the shock waves in the US.
34 posted on 02/28/2003 5:24:47 PM PST by ScholarWarrior
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 28 | View Replies]

To: enraged
TMI
35 posted on 02/28/2003 5:30:23 PM PST by Harmless Teddy Bear (Sometimes "peace" is another word for surrender.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 31 | View Replies]

To: polemikos
MAN!!
Nice Photos.
You can see the guy in cammies standing behind those control fins. That thing makes a 2000 lb. JDAM look like a girlie toy!

In honor of Saddam's mother of all battles we give you.

Mother
Of
All
Battles

The final chapter!!

I want to see the video of this hound dog in the hunt!!

BTTT
36 posted on 02/28/2003 6:25:28 PM PST by missnry
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 27 | View Replies]

To: bmwcyle
Big BLU crapped by Hercules. Regularity is a good feeling.

Remember that most construction in that part of the world is little more than stacked, dried-mud bricks. Much of those "bricks" are not even up to our adobe standards as they lack straw providing some resistance to crumbling. Cemented concrete blocks provide "high strength", load bearing walls in most of their "modern" developments.

Shock waves, even at only a few psi, can severly damage buildings, crushing those in hiding. Glass does not stand a chance. It is almost sad. Almost.

37 posted on 03/01/2003 6:16:46 AM PST by SevenDaysInMay
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 32 | View Replies]

To: 11B3; archy; patton
Way to many things wrong in this text from StrategyPage.com 11B3. Fuel Air Explosive is FAE not FAS. Nor was the BLU 82 Daisy Cutter a FAE or FAS bomb. It is a 15000 pound bomb filled with a slurry not unlike commercial ANFO.

The pictures are nice but what else have these smart guys screwed up in the report about this new and improved MOAB ? Archy or Patton..... you have anything on this new wizbang thang ?

Stay Safe

38 posted on 03/01/2003 9:25:56 PM PST by Squantos (Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscript catapultas habebunt.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: 11B3
<< After the 1991 Gulf War, the United States started to get rid of it's various FAS weapons. >>

And -- thanks to Peking's "Our 'man' in Washington," KKKomelade KKKri'toon, most of our other means of defense, too!
39 posted on 03/01/2003 10:46:04 PM PST by Brian Allen (This above all -- to thine own self be true)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Squantos
Nor was the BLU 82 Daisy Cutter a FAE or FAS bomb. It is a 15000 pound bomb filled with a slurry not unlike commercial ANFO.

The pictures are nice but what else have these smart guys screwed up in the report about this new and improved MOAB? Archy or Patton....you have anything on this new wizbang thing ?

Only that the old BLU-82 was NOT an ANFO slurry, but used a filler of water gel-based explosive not unlike commercial Tovex and Pourvex; developed by Mel Cook, the explosives chemist who was the *daddy* of water based explosives and one of those in on the Air Force *instant [helicopter] landing zone* development almost from the beginning, and was himself present for the initial live firings at Eglin AFB in Florida. Indeed, the BLU-82 was such a supurb utilization of both the chemistry and physical capabilities of the delivery aircraft used during the Vietnam era, the C-130B, that it lasted not only through the Vietnam War, but was dusted off for a psywar surprise for Saddam's troopies in 1991. But today's most probably delivery bird, the MC-130P is capable of a good deal more than the Herky birds of 35 years ago; and since anhydrous hydrazine is used as fuel in the USAFs F16 fighter's emergency power unit and is thereby available, I'd wonder if they might well have gone to an ammonium nitrate/ hydrazine/aluminumum powder mixture for even greater blast effect, at the cost of being a good deal more difficult to prepare, as hydrazine is particularly nasty stuff and requires very careful special handling.

Gerald Hurst, the developer of Astrolite A-1-5, sometimes referred to as *the most powerful non-nuclear explosive on Earth* [which it isn't, though it is way up there and is one of the more common and cost-effective this side of a research lab] was also involved in those tests at Eglin, using Astrolite in napalm bomb cannisters as the first experiments into what would eventually become the BLU-82. And his rig for mixing the ingredients required and loading those cannisters neatly fit into a semitrailer rig that was driven from Seattle to Eglin, and I'd expect such equipment, modernized, could be handily flown overseas via a C130, or certainly by a C17 or C141B. And a MUCH greater effect on the target might make the change in materials, filler and procedures worthwhile, even if the supplu of prepared BLU-82 casings wasn't running short...our target nowadays isn't triple-canopy jungle needing cleared for helicopter insertion, so they may well have improved the effects of the MOAB by switching explosive fillers.

Either way, I'm glad to not be on the receiving end. Hmmmm, I wonder if one of those big fellas wound blow out an oil rig fire, as per the *Hellfighters* and *Boots and Coots* explosive charges used in Kuwait after the wells there had been fired up....

-archy-/-

40 posted on 03/03/2003 7:58:26 AM PST by archy (Keep in mind that the milk of human kindness comes from a beast that is both cannibal and a vampire.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 38 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-44 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson