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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: yarddog
Dummy question - I have a friend in Destin. Will they hear it??
41
posted on
03/10/2003 7:30:17 PM PST
by
Humidston
(Do not remove this tag under penalty of law)
To: Semper911
Ohhh Sadddaaaaaam! We got a little somethin' for ya. Come get some.
To: Semper911
Sure cant fault the military or American business for not delivering a perfect product. These guys like to be blown up, this should blow them up real good.
Jammer
43
posted on
03/10/2003 7:33:32 PM PST
by
JamminJAY
(This space for rent)
To: RobbyS
It's designed to be air dropped from a C-130, so it also be dropped from almost all USAF air cargo planes, the C-141, C-5, or C-17.
44
posted on
03/10/2003 7:34:09 PM PST
by
Hillarys Gate Cult
("Read Hillary's hips. I never had sex with that woman.")
To: Beck_isright
Why waste a perfectly fine mega-daisy-cutter? Why not test it in the field?
45
posted on
03/10/2003 7:34:31 PM PST
by
We Happy Few
("we band of brothers; for he to-day that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother;")
To: Humidston
According to what they have said, it shouldn't be heard in Destin, but I now live about 60 miles from Eglin main and about 30 from the closest bombing range, and I regularly hear what I think is bombs going off, can't imagine what else it could be.
46
posted on
03/10/2003 7:35:14 PM PST
by
yarddog
To: RecentConvert
Isn't a Cameroon a type of cookie...
47
posted on
03/10/2003 7:36:28 PM PST
by
Lawdoc
To: RobbyS
They may be testing it now for North Korea. The problem there is that the NK's have tons of artillery within range of Seoul. So if we bomb their plutonium "factories", they can devastate Seoul before we can destroy the artillery with conventional weapons. The only current alternative is to preempt by attacking the artillery with tactical nuclear weapons. Saves Seoul--but we have to cross the nuclear threshold to do it.
I read that the MOAB is actually powerful enough to create a mushroom cloud. A preemptive strike using MOABs may be a non-nuclear alternative in NK.
Pure speculation alert.
To: Semper911
Drop your coc* and grab your socks, Cletus
It's gonna be showtime in LA! (Lower Alabama)
We haven't had this much fun since the pitcher show burned down!
49
posted on
03/10/2003 7:37:11 PM PST
by
MindBender26
(.....and for more news as it happens...stay tuned to your local FReeper station....)
To: AllSmiles
I hope someone posts a photo of the mushroom cloud it's supposed to produce!
50
posted on
03/10/2003 7:37:22 PM PST
by
jwalburg
(Will renewed fears of nuclear winter cancel out global warming?)
To: Semper911
Another reason for delay to attack Iraq after the satelite
51
posted on
03/10/2003 7:38:28 PM PST
by
VRWC_minion
( Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and most are right)
To: RobbyS
This is a picture? What plane can carry it? A B-52 or a B-2 Spirit (shown below)
52
posted on
03/10/2003 7:38:49 PM PST
by
nwrep
To: New Horizon
53
posted on
03/10/2003 7:41:10 PM PST
by
PhilDragoo
(Hitlery: das Butch von Buchenvald)
To: jwalburg
I;ll See I Live 10 miles from Elgin
To: Kathy in Alaska; HiJinx; tomkow6
Ping for MOAB
To: 2Jedismom
Wonder if we can hear it in Miami?
56
posted on
03/10/2003 7:44:45 PM PST
by
Sam Cree
To: Semper911
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.
Everyone likes something new, and, Saddam, this new BLU's for you.
Heh heh, etcetera.
57
posted on
03/10/2003 7:45:17 PM PST
by
PhilDragoo
(Hitlery: das Butch von Buchenvald)
Comment #58 Removed by Moderator
To: yarddog
Thanks!
59
posted on
03/10/2003 7:45:55 PM PST
by
Humidston
(Do not remove this tag under penalty of law)
To: New Horizon
"Say Hello to my Lil Fren..."
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