USA drops "Mother of All Bombs" on Afghanistan

[Cold]

US military have used a Lockheed MC-130 to drop a GBU-43 weapon onto caves suspected of housing IS militants in eastern Afghanistan.
This is a large, very large, bomb!

Reuters link

[Pesty]

Uuuuuuuge

[anonymous-user]

is it really effective against caves? seems like a propaganda stunt over actual killer.

[Pesty]

The Spruce goose said:

is it really effective against caves? seems like a propaganda stunt over actual killer.

Probably extremely as In may collapse them or just bury everybody inside so they can't get out.

[Butter Face]

9m long and 1m wide weighing 10,300kg.

Suppose you can call it 'big'!!

[Vipers]

Pesty said:

The Spruce goose said:

is it really effective against caves? seems like a propaganda stunt over actual killer.

Probably extremely as In may collapse them or just bury everybody inside so they can't get out.

Here's hoping.

[nyxster]

The Spruce goose said:

is it really effective against caves? seems like a propaganda stunt over actual killer.

It is exactly what it was designed for. There was a documentary on the design and testing of it, It's a fuel/air bomb, so when it detonates its designed to suck all the air from the surrounding area - by dropping it at the mouth of the cave it sucks all the air out creating a vacuum inside suffocating the occupants instantly. Victim post mortens showed their lungs were literally sucked flat like a deflated balloon.

[AshVX220]

nyxster said:

It is exactly what it was designed for. There was a documentary on the design and testing of it, It's a fuel/air bomb, so when it detonates its designed to suck all the air from the surrounding area - by dropping it at the mouth of the cave it sucks all the air out creating a vacuum inside suffocating the occupants instantly. Victim post mortens showed their lungs were literally sucked flat like a deflated balloon.

Not a good way to go is it, like a Nuke, I think if you were to be targeted by this, you'd want to be right underneath it when it goes off.

[Cold]

AshVX220 said:

Not a good way to go is it, like a Nuke, I think if you were to be targeted by this, you'd want to be right underneath it when it goes off.

I think the next biggest bomb they've got would actually be a nuclear device.

[GCH]

A bigly bomb

[bazza white]

Cold said:

I think the next biggest bomb they've got would actually be a nuclear device.

The Russians have the father of all bombs.

[Wacky Racer]

[MrBrightSi]

nyxster said:

The Spruce goose said:

is it really effective against caves? seems like a propaganda stunt over actual killer.

It is exactly what it was designed for. There was a documentary on the design and testing of it, It's a fuel/air bomb, so when it detonates its designed to suck all the air from the surrounding area - by dropping it at the mouth of the cave it sucks all the air out creating a vacuum inside suffocating the occupants instantly. Victim post mortens showed their lungs were literally sucked flat like a deflated balloon.

There was a small piece on these thermobaric munitions on an old show called future weapons, the presenter was an odd chap but was good military hardware television. The septic tanks have been using huge bombs like this since Vietnam called daisy cutters.

[Motorrad]

You just know this was like Christmas for the septics. They love this st, the crew would have been like a dog with two dicks waiting to drop this motherfker.

[Jockman]

Is that Madagascar orange??

[seyre1972]

Wacky Racer said:

GBU-43/B is official title - affectionately known as the MOAB - Massive Ordnance Air Blast - or Mother Of All Bombs .... Reckoned to be the most powerful conventional weapon in Americas Arsenal - then you step up-to the Nuclear option.

[Deptford Draylons]

You had a ten ton bomb dropping from Lancasters during world war two. Nothing special, but hopefully took out a few of the good for only potato peeling British IS crowd.

[loose cannon]

Wacky Racer said:

You no when you have been tango'd

[Beati Dogu]

AshVX220 said:

nyxster said:

It is exactly what it was designed for. There was a documentary on the design and testing of it, It's a fuel/air bomb, so when it detonates its designed to suck all the air from the surrounding area - by dropping it at the mouth of the cave it sucks all the air out creating a vacuum inside suffocating the occupants instantly. Victim post mortens showed their lungs were literally sucked flat like a deflated balloon.

Not a good way to go is it, like a Nuke, I think if you were to be targeted by this, you'd want to be right underneath it when it goes off.

It's not actually a fuel air, or aerosol bomb; It's "just" 9 tons of high explosive in a thin metal shell.

The overpressure alone would pretty much burst every cell in your body.

[Jonmx]

I have nothing against bombing these ISIS fighters, but I do have to question the timing of using the largest non nuclear weapon ever dropped. I doubt I'm alone in thinking it's more of a willy waving exercise than a mission of any real strategic value.