Skip to comments.
Test of Massive Air Force Bomb Set for Tuesday at Eglin AFB (Florida)
AP ^
Posted on 03/10/2003 7:08:26 PM PST by Semper911
Mar 10, 2003
Test of 'massive' Air Force Bomb Set for Tuesday at Eglin
The Associated Press
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (AP) - A conventional bomb so big that it's first name is "massive" is set to be tested for the first time at this Florida Panhandle base Tuesday.
Air Force officials Monday warned residents of communities surrounding the western half Eglin's 724-square-mile military reservation to be prepared to hear an explosion that sounds like thunder or a slamming door between noon and 5 p.m. CST although the blast will be miles away.
The loudness of the 21,000-pound "massive ordnance air burst," or MOAB, will vary depending on wind currents and some people may not hear it at all, Eglin officials said in a brief news release.
They added that the test will be conducted only under weather conditions best for minimizing the sound and inside a buffer zone to keep a shock wave and debris from the explosion inside Eglin's boundaries. The backup date for the test is Thursday during the same time frame.
MOAB is similar to but 40 percent heavier than the 15,000-pound BLU-82, billed as the world's most powerful non-nuclear bomb and known to send up a mushroom cloud similar to a nuclear weapon.
The BLU-82, nicknamed "daisy cutter," was developed during the Vietnam War to create jungle clearings for use as helicopter landing areas. It was most recently dropped in Afghanistan on caves where al-Qaida leaders were suspected of hiding.
In the Persian Gulf War, it was used to clear minefields. MOAB is expected to be ready for use this year if the test is successful.
Areas where civilians may be able to hear the blast are Mary Esther, Navarre, Holly, Holt and western Crestview.
TOPICS: Breaking News; US: Florida
KEYWORDS: florida; moabbomb; newsscoop; scoop
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 241-260, 261-280, 281-300, 301-320 next last
To: RobFromGa; AF_Blue
Keywords in honor of AF_BlueGood thinking. Dang, I thought for sure the DOD would release video before the evening news deadlines. Why weren't there any newscopters in the air, with those megazoom cameras they have? You'd have thought they would be all over it.
281
posted on
03/11/2003 2:54:30 PM PST
by
Semper911
(For some people, bread and circus are not enough. Hence, FreeRepublic.com)
To: Semper911
To: finnman69
To: Erasmus
One of the reasons for the delayed response by the Japanese was that the destruction
in Hiroshima was so severe that communications were cut off and Tokyo didn't know what
had happened for about a day.
Pretty amazing that a God-King couldn't just get into one of his private planes and
go fly over what remained of Hiroshima.
But then a lot of wild things happen during war-time...
284
posted on
03/11/2003 3:03:51 PM PST
by
VOA
To: Semper911
First Image! (not very good)
To: finnman69
Just saw the video on Fox. Not that impressive, because there is nothing around to give a sense of scale. Also, it was hazy, and the image wasn't that good.
Wasn't it supposed to be an air burst? This was a ground impact-type explosion.
I can hear Saddam yawning now.
286
posted on
03/11/2003 4:12:05 PM PST
by
Semper911
(For some people, bread and circus are not enough. Hence, FreeRepublic.com)
To: Semper911; shadowman99
VideoThe video starts with the bomb already having been released and on it's long decent to earth.......Novak jokes that watching the bomb fall looks like MSNBC's ratings (that's why the laughter at the start of the video)
To: finnman69
Fox News just had video of the blast. Way cool. The Pentagon sent it through a computer file. I think they're still trying to pick the best shots for release.
288
posted on
03/11/2003 4:12:44 PM PST
by
Hillarys Gate Cult
("Read Hillary's hips. I never had sex with that woman.")
To: VOA
Or peace time, for that matter.
The Soviet Union when into spastic twitchy shock when the RMBK reactor at Chernobyl blew it's lid...
To: mikenola
Thanks mik. Looks like we will have to wait for the live-fire video feeds (if you know what I mean) before we get the audio.
Thanks for taking the time to put up the pic.
290
posted on
03/11/2003 4:14:40 PM PST
by
Semper911
(For some people, bread and circus are not enough. Hence, FreeRepublic.com)
To: mikenola
To: Semper911
The term air burst is correct in cases like this. An air burst of this type denotes that it was set off before contact with the ground, so there is less of a crater. These type of air bursts look like ground explosions, but they're not.
292
posted on
03/11/2003 4:22:43 PM PST
by
Hillarys Gate Cult
("Read Hillary's hips. I never had sex with that woman.")
To: Semper911
BIG ba-da-boom!!!!
Wheeeee-haaaaaah!!
293
posted on
03/11/2003 4:26:54 PM PST
by
Pablo64
("But still I fear and still dare not laugh at the the Madman.")
To: Hillarys Gate Cult
Interesting, thanks. What I don't know about ordinance could fill a book.
294
posted on
03/11/2003 4:29:47 PM PST
by
Semper911
(For some people, bread and circus are not enough. Hence, FreeRepublic.com)
To: mikenola
The game is over...
To: Semper911
Just saw the video on Fox. Not that impressive, because there is nothing around
to give a sense of scale.
What the guvmint should do is have some military spokesman say that that blast
would have flattened 3.4 of Saddam's palaces...and anyone inside would have been entombed
even if they were in any sort of underground bunker.
Unless they had an exit about 4 miles away that didn't get buried by junk blown apart
by the shockwave.
296
posted on
03/11/2003 4:36:05 PM PST
by
VOA
To: Semper911
I would like to be close enough to feel it... hearing it would be cool, but if you could feel it. Not to the point of pain, but almost. That would be the real sense of what this thing can do...
297
posted on
03/11/2003 4:38:40 PM PST
by
sit-rep
To: sit-rep
hearing it would be cool, but if you could feel it.I hear you. Like when you feel a loud noise in your chest. Got to be enough to scare the crap out of anyone.
298
posted on
03/11/2003 4:41:35 PM PST
by
Semper911
(For some people, bread and circus are not enough. Hence, FreeRepublic.com)
To: mikenola
I'm not sure on the size, but judging by the still posted by mikenola, it's pretty damn big. Look infront of the fireball, I believe those are trees.
299
posted on
03/11/2003 4:46:12 PM PST
by
Blue Scourge
(If a man hasn't found something he is willing to die for, he is not fit to live. - MLKjr.)
To: Blue Scourge
it's pretty damn bigI guess you're right. I was just expecting.. well... spectacular. You know, for the PR factor.
300
posted on
03/11/2003 4:54:26 PM PST
by
Semper911
(For some people, bread and circus are not enough. Hence, FreeRepublic.com)
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 241-260, 261-280, 281-300, 301-320 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.
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson