Test of Massive Air Force Bomb Set for Tuesday at Eglin AFB (Florida)

AP ^

[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.

[Humidston]

Dummy question - I have a friend in Destin. Will they hear it??

[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

Ohhh Sadddaaaaaam! We got a little somethin' for ya. Come get some.

[JamminJAY]

Sure can’t 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

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

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.

[We Happy Few]

Why waste a perfectly fine mega-daisy-cutter? Why not test it in the field?

[yarddog]

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.

[Lawdoc]

Isn't a Cameroon a type of cookie...

[ModelBreaker]

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.

[MindBender26]

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!

[jwalburg]

I hope someone posts a photo of the mushroom cloud it's supposed to produce!

[VRWC_minion]

Another reason for delay to attack Iraq after the satelite

[nwrep]

This is a picture? What plane can carry it?

A B-52 or a B-2 Spirit (shown below)

[PhilDragoo]

[scooby321]

I;ll See I Live 10 miles from Elgin

[snippy_about_it]

Ping for MOAB

[Sam Cree]

Wonder if we can hear it in Miami?

[PhilDragoo]

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.

[Humidston]

Thanks!

[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

"Say Hello to my Lil Fren..."