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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
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To: Semper911
People refer a lot to the "Mushroom Cloud".

I'll be first to nickname it a "Cauliflower Cloud".

Still, pretty darn scary stuff.

I'll bet they are dummying up the psy war leaflets for airdrops as we speak!

301 posted on 03/11/2003 5:42:28 PM PST by AmericanInTokyo (Easy to UNDERRATE N.Korea: Idiotic leader, starving people. BUT DON'T! They could attack in a flash.)
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To: null and void
Go into Google. Type Northrop Grumman. Click on the first link and then Electronics. Career Opportunities. Select City and All Positions. They keep adding to jobs weekly. Optics shop, Environmental Lab, Engineers of all kinds, solderers (many). Check out Martin Marietta in Orlando also.
302 posted on 03/11/2003 5:52:22 PM PST by sheikdetailfeather
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To: AmericanInTokyo
"Cauliflower Cloud"

YES! That is perfect.

AP : The US tested a massive bomb today, leaving a cauliflower cloud in its wake on a test range in Florida. Florets were said to have towered as high as 10,000ft. The bomb, known as the MOAB, resembled a giant cucumber, and was guided to its target by GPS...

303 posted on 03/11/2003 5:53:38 PM PST by Semper911 (For some people, bread and circus are not enough. Hence, FreeRepublic.com)
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To: Semper911
Interesting, thanks. What I don't know about ordinance could fill a book.

You're welcome. Used to do munitions for a living. In the Air Force, our motto was "without us, it would just be another airline." I used to add "with ugly stewardesses."

For those disappointed in the low quality of the Pentagon release of this tape, cheer up. I'm sure that wasn't the only camera around and that isn't the final release. Right now, the eggheads and psy ops people are pouring over and editing tons of tape of the test. The idea is not to show any information that a potential enemy could use to defend against the bomb, and the best shots for effect. I'm sure we'll see some great footage in the morning.

304 posted on 03/11/2003 6:24:11 PM PST by Hillarys Gate Cult ("Read Hillary's hips. I never had sex with that woman.")
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Now you just know that some bored zero pilotting a C-130 over in the sand box just got word of the detonation and leaned over to his co-pilot and whispered, "Hey, let's have us some fun". They then pushed the C-130 on over and did a dry run on an Iraqi position.

April fools!!! while several squads of Iraqi soldiers nearly stampede themselves to death while trying to unass the position in time. Now every time a C-130 is spotted the enemy will be taking a short breath and hoping, no praying, it's not headed their way.

Let's roll!!

305 posted on 03/11/2003 7:06:52 PM PST by spectr17
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To: Joe Hadenuf
Just for grins and giggles, I thought I'd answer your query "How far away are you" to AF_Blue. He works 12 miles North of Eglin Field, at Duke Field. Since he was in a hangar, that's why he wouldn't have seen it, but he said that he sure felt it.

Thought you'd want to know.
306 posted on 03/11/2003 7:35:49 PM PST by TruthNtegrity (God bless America, God bless President George W. Bush and God bless our Military!)
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To: TruthNtegrity
Thanks for that.....I would have paid to see it....
307 posted on 03/11/2003 7:42:25 PM PST by Joe Hadenuf
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To: Mad_Tom_Rackham

"Say Hello to my Lil Fren..."

308 posted on 03/11/2003 8:03:03 PM PST by Mad_Tom_Rackham (Let's Roll Already!)
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To: Joe Hadenuf
You know, somebody earlier on this thread, facetiously suggested that they should offer this on pay-for-view. I, for one, would have signed up, for sure! And from the subsequent comments, it sounds like others would have as well. Maybe we should suggest this to some Govvies somewhere?

Okay, I know they aren't going to let us see the scenes from the chase plane - that's what AF_Blue said was taking the pics. I can't wait to see the video when it's released.

BTW, it suddenly occurred to me - okay, big DUH - that the landscape there is so much like the Iraqi landscape, that I'm now sure that that is why they chose this area. They wanted to see how far the blast effect went, how much damage it did to the scrub brush at how many miles from epicenter, and stuff like that.

309 posted on 03/11/2003 8:12:50 PM PST by TruthNtegrity (God bless America, God bless President George W. Bush and God bless our Military!)
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To: Tree of Liberty
"What's a Cameroon?"

I think they're those coconut cookies.

LOL :)

310 posted on 03/11/2003 8:31:54 PM PST by Jorge
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To: TruthNtegrity
BTW, it suddenly occurred to me - okay, big DUH - that the landscape there is so much like the Iraqi landscape,

Is it? I was thinking wetter, like Korea...

311 posted on 03/11/2003 8:54:08 PM PST by null and void (Dunno, never been to either place...)
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To: All
OK FReepers, I need your help. It is time to FReep the pentagon and get a name change for this bomb.

I believe it should be called the "Zero Oppression Tolerance" bomb.

I believe it is time for Sadam Insane to receive his first (and last) ZOT!!

312 posted on 03/11/2003 9:28:56 PM PST by Hoverbug (whadda ya mean, "we don't get parachutes"!?!)
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To: fso301
SON-OF-A-BITCH - THEY SET IT OFF!!

The good news is that I can see again, but now I'm deaf!.....FRegards

313 posted on 03/11/2003 9:40:50 PM PST by gonzo (I wonder how much I can get away with, and still get to Heaven?)
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To: Billy_bob_bob
IF you think about how amped we all got when we saw the laser guided technology in the gulf war.... it could work.
314 posted on 03/11/2003 10:15:27 PM PST by Walkingfeather
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To: aruanan; All
I was wrong in my above statements.

I chose...poorly.

Mustang sends w/apologies.
315 posted on 03/12/2003 4:31:53 AM PST by Mustang (Evil Thrives When Good People Do Nothing!)
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To: Mustang
The best thing about FR is we're adults.

And act like it!
316 posted on 03/12/2003 8:04:54 AM PST by null and void (mostly...)
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To: Semper911
Reminds me of the Buffett song:

Waiting For The Next Explosion

Missing link crouched upon a promontory rock
Tryin' to figure out his biological clock.
No one around to announce his arrival
So he's got to get to work on his sense of survival
Oh Oh, it's a dangerous world.

Over in China they got smart real fast
That's where they invented the man made blast.
They lost a few fingers and some bamboo shacks,
But they gave birth to a tribe of pyromaniacs.

(Chorus)
Oh oh, it's a dangerous world.
Fire in the sky, lava in the ocean,
Sittin' round waitin' for the next explosion

Back in the fifties they thought it made good sense
To teach all the school children about civil defense.
Don't be scared, do not cry,
Just dive under your desk and kiss your ass goodbye.

(Chorus)
Oh oh, such a dangerous world.
It was a hell of a hustle, paranoia promotion
Waiting at ground zero, for the next explosion.

Where you gonna be
When it hits the fan?
Got a plan?
What you gonna do
If it lands on you?
Where's your point of view?

Down at the beach club there's a sales convention
Night sky is the focus of that crowd's attention.
It's no cosmic collision just a fireworks show,
But they feel it in their hearts when those
Concussion bombs blow.

Oh oh, such a dangerous world
Gunpowder's louder than Newton's laws of motion.
Everybody's waitin' for the next explosion.

Fires in the sky, fallin' on the ocean
Sittin' round waitin' for the next explosion.

317 posted on 03/12/2003 8:37:35 AM PST by theDentist (So..... This is Virginia..... where are all the virgins?)
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To: null and void; Mustang
The best thing about FR is we're adults.

Nice, isn't it? Not only that he apologized for making a bad call, but no one dogged him about it.

Mustang, I am still curious about the thinking behind your prediction. I ask because I am certain we are in for massive disinformation reports in the weeks and months ahead.

318 posted on 03/12/2003 2:06:26 PM PST by Semper911 (For some people, bread and circus are not enough. Hence, FreeRepublic.com)
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To: null and void; Joe Hadenuf; Semper911; RS; FLdeputy; TomB; spectre; SW6906; All
N&V...Thanks for those kind words.

As I stated several posts above, my statements were wrong, and I apologize.

If I may, I'd like to explain those incorrect statements. My contacts and sources, who I called when this AP story first hit, told me this info was BS (not the existence of M.O.A.B.) but the location/date of its pending detenotion.

The locations I were given "hinted" to NAS Weapons range, Fallon, NV. or the Tonopah test range several hundred miles NW of Nellis AFB. In addition, I was informed that a public notification and display of this ordnance would only be condudcted after our initial sorties and BDA (battle damage assesments) in Iraq. The reason why seems germane. That's why I posted and stated what I did.

For those who were put off and took my statements personal, they weren't intended to be.

Lastly, regarding my Bona Fides regarding my military background reflected in my profile, every original member of the Florida Free Republic Chapter can verify my credulity.

I chose poorly in my posting...but did so in good faith. Not to offend.

Mustang sends w/ Best..(not a newbie)..FReegards
319 posted on 03/12/2003 2:48:29 PM PST by Mustang (Evil Thrives When Good People Do Nothing!)
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To: Semper911
Thanks for your question. Hope my above helps.

Mustang sends.
320 posted on 03/12/2003 3:34:55 PM PST by Mustang (Evil Thrives When Good People Do Nothing!)
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