MOAB is the second largest non-nuclear bomb in the world. It was developed by Albert J. Weirmorts of The Air Force Research Laboratory, United States of America in the year 2003. The MOAB stands for Massive Ordnance Air Blast and it is commonly known as The 'Mother of All Bombs'. MOAB is 30 feet in length and about 40.5 inches in diameter. It weighs around 9,525 kilograms and because of the fact that it is very heavy, it cannot be dropped from conventional fighter jets. A Cargo Aircraft such as Lockheed Martin C-130 is used for dropping this bomb.
The MOAB
Albert J. Weirmorts (Right) and Joseph Fellenz (Left) look at the MOAB model before it was painted and tested
Inside these Lockheed Martin C-130 Aircrafts, MOAB is carried on cradles resting on airdrop platforms. Then, it is dropped by deploying parachutes, which also extract the cradle platform from the aircraft. Shortly after launch, the drogues are realeased and the bomb falls unretarded. GPS satellite guidance system is employed to guide MOAB to it's target.
Lockheed Martin C-130 Aircraft: One which is employed to drop MOAB
MOAB is an 'Air Burst' ordnance meaning it bursts in air just before hitting the ground. When the bomb falls unretarded from the parachute, the kinetic energy increases at a faster rate and the pressure inside the bomb also increases. When this pressure inside the bomb reaches it's peak pressure, the bomb bursts. This happens generally when the bomb is 10-6 feet above the ground. This results in more destruction as if the bomb would have burst after it hit the ground, then there would be less destruction as a huge amount of energy from the bomb would have been absorbed by the surface of the earth.
MOAB is highly efficient in destroying underground bunkers, caves and mines. It's efficiency is about 1 mile/radius. However, it is always observed to cause more impact than that. Trinitrotoluene popularly known as TNT is used as an explosive material in MOAB. TNT is mixed with 20% of Aluminium powder to increase it's impact efficiency.
Trinitrotoluene (TNT) is mixed along with 20% Aluminium powder and this mixture acts as a explosive in MOAB
MOAB was dropped recently at ISIS Underground Bunker Complex in Afghanistan on 14th April,2017 to destruct the ISIS bunkers and militants. Since, it was dropped about 90 bodies of ISIS militants have been recovered so far.
Impact of MOAB observed after it was dropped at ISIS Underground Bunker Complex in Afghanistan on 14th April,2017
MOAB is the largest non-nuclear bomb in US Military's arsenal, however it is not the largest non-nuclear bomb in the world. The largest non-nuclear bomb in the world is 'Aviation Thermobaric Bomb of Increased Power', which is nicknamed as The 'Father of All Bombs' or FOAB . It is Four times as powerful as MOAB. FOAB was developed in 2007 for use by the Russian Military.
'Aviation Thermobaric Bomb of Increased Power' or 'The Father of All Bombs'
There is no doubt that this bomb causes huge amount of impact when dropped but the impact generated is far less than the nuclear bombs. Therefore, a fair comparison between MOAB and Nuclear Bombs is not possible.
MOAB Explosion VS A Nuclear Bomb Explosion
The MOAB
Albert J. Weirmorts (Right) and Joseph Fellenz (Left) look at the MOAB model before it was painted and tested
Inside these Lockheed Martin C-130 Aircrafts, MOAB is carried on cradles resting on airdrop platforms. Then, it is dropped by deploying parachutes, which also extract the cradle platform from the aircraft. Shortly after launch, the drogues are realeased and the bomb falls unretarded. GPS satellite guidance system is employed to guide MOAB to it's target.
Lockheed Martin C-130 Aircraft: One which is employed to drop MOAB
MOAB is an 'Air Burst' ordnance meaning it bursts in air just before hitting the ground. When the bomb falls unretarded from the parachute, the kinetic energy increases at a faster rate and the pressure inside the bomb also increases. When this pressure inside the bomb reaches it's peak pressure, the bomb bursts. This happens generally when the bomb is 10-6 feet above the ground. This results in more destruction as if the bomb would have burst after it hit the ground, then there would be less destruction as a huge amount of energy from the bomb would have been absorbed by the surface of the earth.
MOAB is highly efficient in destroying underground bunkers, caves and mines. It's efficiency is about 1 mile/radius. However, it is always observed to cause more impact than that. Trinitrotoluene popularly known as TNT is used as an explosive material in MOAB. TNT is mixed with 20% of Aluminium powder to increase it's impact efficiency.
Trinitrotoluene (TNT) is mixed along with 20% Aluminium powder and this mixture acts as a explosive in MOAB
MOAB was dropped recently at ISIS Underground Bunker Complex in Afghanistan on 14th April,2017 to destruct the ISIS bunkers and militants. Since, it was dropped about 90 bodies of ISIS militants have been recovered so far.
Impact of MOAB observed after it was dropped at ISIS Underground Bunker Complex in Afghanistan on 14th April,2017
MOAB is the largest non-nuclear bomb in US Military's arsenal, however it is not the largest non-nuclear bomb in the world. The largest non-nuclear bomb in the world is 'Aviation Thermobaric Bomb of Increased Power', which is nicknamed as The 'Father of All Bombs' or FOAB . It is Four times as powerful as MOAB. FOAB was developed in 2007 for use by the Russian Military.
'Aviation Thermobaric Bomb of Increased Power' or 'The Father of All Bombs'
There is no doubt that this bomb causes huge amount of impact when dropped but the impact generated is far less than the nuclear bombs. Therefore, a fair comparison between MOAB and Nuclear Bombs is not possible.
MOAB Explosion VS A Nuclear Bomb Explosion
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