Most powerful non-nuclear bomb

[Brian Ellis]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6990815.stm

"The Father of all bombs"!

[Lizzard[MPE]]

isn't bomb testing destroying our air on this planet for christ sakes. ?

[Lizzard[MPE]]

The Russian air force has tested a giant fuel-air bomb which the military says is the biggest non-nuclear explosive device in the world.

And isn't the cost of fuel high enough as it is!

[Brian Ellis]

This bomb weighs 7 tonnes, including its shell. Let me hypothesise and say the active compounds weigh 5 tonnes, of which 4 tonnes form the air-reducing explosive aerosol and 1 tonne is the igniter system.

Now what does that mean? Let's say you have a large car with a fuel consumption of 15 l/100 km and that 15 l weighs 12 kg. That means you will burn 4 tonnes of fuel in doing only 33,333 km. Many do that in less than a year and few do less than that in two years. So it's equivalent to between 1-2 car-years. Not very significant.

Possibly much more so is the amount of explosives detonated in Iraq, every day. One report talks of "insurgents" having looted 250,000 tonnes of munitions.

However, there is a big environmental difference between a fuel-air bomb and conventional explosives. The former just burns a fuel aerosol and produces little difference from burning the same fuel in any other way. Conventional explosives produce VASTLY LARGER amounts of NOx pollutants.

[Lizzard[MPE]]

interesting

thanks for the lesson.

[Dr Mordrid]

Updated info makes the comparison to MOAB a poor one as they differ at a fundamental level.

MOAB for all its size is a conventional bomb; a can full of a fuel + oxidizer explosive set to detonate as an air blast. The Russian device differs in that it's a thermobaric bomb, AKA a "fuel-air explosive" or FAE as noted.

Thermobarics differ in that they use atmospheric oxygen instead of carrying an oxidizer in their explosive mix.

Traditional thermobarics worked by first setting off a charge that disperses the fuel (a liquid or fine powder) into a large cloud then a second charge ignites it. Newer thermobarics use a single explosive charge that both disperses and ignites the fuel.

In either case the effect is identical to a gas or grain silo explosion; massive shock waves and widespread destruction compared to the volume of explosive fuel.

Both the US and Russia have used thermobarics of varying sizes for decades. All Russia did is make one with a big fuel tank.

(dispersion charge to the left, tank to the right)


Truth be told it looks for all the world to be a large propane tank with mods, and propane would make a great FAE fuel.



Some "technological advance"

[Nowhere]

...
Some "technological advance"

Oh it would be...if made by US


(BTW, any videos?)

edit: apparently there is something on youtube...only shows the end result of shockwave, not how it actually looked like (though it's very clear on the footage of the center of explosion)

http://pl.youtube.com/watch?v=z1ee_cDX7ys

[Dr Mordrid]

Oh it would be...if made by US


(BTW, any videos?)

edit: apparently there is something on youtube...only shows the ned result of shockwave, not how it actually looked like (though it seems very clear on the footage of the center of explosion)
http://pl.youtube.com/watch?v=z1ee_cDX7ys

BTW: MOAB (21,000 lbs) isn't our heaviest bomb. That honor goes to the Massive Ordinance Penetrator; 20 feet long, 30,000 lbs and designed to penetrate 200 feet of reinforced concrete before detonating. MOP can be delivered by the B-1, B-2 and the B-52.

Intended target: Iranian nuclear facilities in deep bunkers, and after Germany renigging on future sanctions on Iran military action looks more likely every day.

Latest rumor is a massive 3-5 day air campaign leveling every military, radar, militia and logistical target they have. Some reports put it at 20,000 targets.

Can the US hit that many targets in 5 days? Yes. Using the new Small Diameter Bombs the B-2 can do precision strikes on up to 216 soft to moderate targets/sortie from 100 km out.

Making matters easier is that Gulf States have already issued flyover rights for any such attacks. More interesting is that they've also issued flyover rights to Israel.

If this happens you'll be able to walk wing tip to wing tip from Iraq to Afghanistan

[Nowhere]

Actually isn't that video even worse example of bad reporting?

Video shows MOAB detonation from above and MOAB itself while talking exclusively about thermobaric weapons...

[Dr Mordrid]

It shows both bombs. The first explosion is "Father" and the drop is shown end-on so it looks spherical. The second is MOAB, which is painted red. Naturally they're rambling on, Uncle Vlad wouldn't have it any other way.

[Nowhere]

Uhmmm...I was talking about your video which you edited out...shows both constantly, talks only about thermobaric.

[Dr Mordrid]

I edited it out because the previous one had similar material.

[Nowhere]

And at least in the one from youtube they speak about MOAB when showing it...not sure if they properly adress major difference in mechanism of those two bombs, I have the impression that they don't (but I barely understand what they're saying...)

BTW, reminds me of this movie http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114069/