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.

[LisaAnne]

*LOL* Oh, I like that idea!

[PhilDragoo]

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.)

[RecentConvert]

Beautiful picture.

[Robert_Paulson2]

bfb....
er...uh....
Big FAT Bomb... for the kiddies...
Big F#&*%%n bomb for the big boys.

[Robert_Paulson2]

soon enough... soon enough...
we are waiting till their subterfuge is so great thepeople cry out for 'la mere a tout revengee'.

anybody speak french?

[Poohbah]

I wish I was in Florida with a folding lawn chair and a big bottle of Mountain Dew to watch the show...

[Semper911]

Cameroon... it's something to do with camels.

Exactly.

[Robert_Paulson2]

that's a macaroon cookie....
I prefer ginger snaps...

[Robert_Paulson2]

Is that an ORANGE cigar in your pocket....
or are you just really glad to see me?!?!

[Robert_Paulson2]

Bush knows... castro's spies down there can get the pictures to moscow and beijing FASTER than we could... unless we sent one over there "special delivery" to their buddy kim, with the shriveled member.

[Mustang]

All due respect....but this "AP report" is:

BULL SH#T!!!

It just amazes me how many silly people believe so many stupid things!....And still post'em!

Mustang sends.

[Boundless]

> Test of 'massive' Air Force Bomb Set for Tuesday at Eglin

This day-before announcement precludes any legal action
by enviros concerned about the wildlife that will be
lost (and some certainly will).

> A conventional bomb so big that it's first name
> is "massive"...

Hmm. Just how big does a "conventional" weapon need to be
before it's considered a WMD? I suspect that the blast
effects of this thing (and the current BLU-82) overlap
the smaller tactical nukes.

> Air Force officials Monday warned residents of
> communities surrounding the western half Eglin's
> 724-square-mile military reservation to be prepared...

No map handy, but 724 sq.mi. would be 27 miles square,
so the blast site can't be further than 13 miles from
every perimeter.

I assume the USAF has done it's homework, but I wouldn't
have guessed that 13 mi is necessarily a safe distance.

> ...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.

Even if the shock wave degrades at the boundary, the
remaining pressure wave and noise could still be risky.
Anyone reading mapped this out yet?

> The backup date for the test is Thursday...

Also too soon for protests.

> ...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.

This is sensationalizing.
A barrel of gasoline will "send up a mushroom cloud".

> It was most recently dropped in Afghanistan on caves
> where al-Qaida leaders were suspected of hiding.

If Osama is dead, and has been for some time, he was
probably done in by a BLU-82.

> 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.

I wonder if, using a suitable detonation altitude, it
can be used to neutralize saboteurs in oil fields,
yet leave the equipment undamaged.

[jwh_Denver]

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

Naw Saddamn, just hang out, catch some rays, do a little hash, we'll custom deliver it to you!

[RS]

"Apparently a group of SAS called in, saying, "The Yanks have gone and NUKED the place!"

Another reason to blow it off where anyone can come and check for radiation - So when we use it on a place that Saddam has his nu-cu-ler material, the French can't complain that WE were using Nukes.

[Joe Hadenuf]

It just amazes me how many silly people believe so many stupid things!....And still post'em!

Oh, thanks for that! And here we thought we could charge money, sell beer and chips, with commercials and all that crap. Thanks for that bit of reality. I appreciate it.

[Ford Fairlane]

I'd take something more potent than Dew...

[The Wizard]

isn't his being tested in Paris....or Baghdad

[Poohbah]

To each his own.

[RS]

"All due respect....but this "AP report" is: BULL SH#T!!! "

and you figured this out how ?

[Capriole]

Fat lot of good it does us to have ordnance like this if we wimp out and don't use it because we're so busy sucking up to the UN.