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The GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast, also known as the "Mother of All Bombs", has been dropped in Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan. It is the most powerful non-nuclear bomb in the U.S. arsenal.
The US military has dropped an enormous bomb in Afghanistan, according to four US military officials with direct knowledge of the mission. A GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast Bomb, nicknamed MOAB, was dropped at 7 p.m. local time Thursday, the sources said. [...] A MOAB is a 21,600-pound, GPS-guided munition that is America's most powerful non-nuclear bomb.
The bomb was dropped by an MC-130 aircraft, operated by Air Force Special Operations Command, according to the military sources. They said the target was an ISIS tunnel and cave complex as well as personnel in the Achin district of the Nangarhar province.
Gen. John Nicholson, Commander of U.S. Forces in Afghanistan, said in a statement. "This is the right munition to reduce these obstacles and maintain the momentum of our offensive against [ISIS]." The statement said U.S. forces took every precaution to avoid civilian casualties.
Also at Fox News. The bombing came days after the death of a Green Beret in the same province, but a defense official said the bombing was unrelated. Another official had this to say:
The MOAB had to be dropped out of the back of a U.S. Air Force C-130 cargo plane due to its massive size. "We kicked it out the back door," one U.S. official told Fox News.
Update: The Afghan defence ministry says that 36 ISIS fighters were killed by the strike.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 14 2017, @01:09PM (5 children)
From wiki:
Blast yield 11 tons TNT (46 GJ)
Comparable large weapons:
Several news organizations called it the largest conventional bomb ever used in anger,[4] but the 22,000-pound Grand Slam earthquake bombs dropped during World War II may have been even heavier.
The BLU-82B/C-130 weapon system, known under program "Commando Vault" and nicknamed "Daisy Cutter" in Vietnam and in Afghanistan for its ability to flatten a section of forest into a helicopter landing zone, is a 15,000-pound (6,800 kg) conventional bomb, delivered from either a C-130 or an MC-130 transport aircraft. Two hundred and twenty-five were constructed.[2] The BLU-82 was retired in 2008 and replaced with the more powerful MOAB.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by deadstick on Friday April 14 2017, @01:33PM (3 children)
That term has been around since WW1 to describe a bomb with a long detonator extension on the front so it goes off above ground level, for maximum surface devastation. I suppose "people mower" wouldn't have looked very good in the papers...
(Score: 3, Touché) by Anne Nonymous on Friday April 14 2017, @03:08PM (2 children)
"It's a bomb for killing people, not plants" says a guy named deadstick.
(Score: 2) by julian on Friday April 14 2017, @05:56PM (1 child)
It's an aviation term. [wikipedia.org]
(Score: 2) by Anne Nonymous on Friday April 14 2017, @07:53PM
Well thank goodness it's not more personal [viagra.com] than that.
(Score: 1) by butthurt on Friday April 14 2017, @07:55PM
Someone revised that to say:
[...] the 22,000-pound Grand Slam earthquake bombs that were dropped during World War II had around the same weight, but were designed for penetration and carried less explosives.
There's no citation for that bit.