What is the "mother of all bombs" and why is it unique?

“Mother of All Bombs” is an unofficial transcript of the abbreviation for the high explosive ordnance GBU-43 / B (MOAB), created and first tested by the US military at the beginning of the third millennium. At the time of development, this product was considered the most powerful non-nuclear weapon in the history of mankind.

Creation Background

The novelty was given the palm from the BLU-82 bomb with the romantic name "Daisy Mower", weighing 6.8 tons. The predecessor had by that time an impressive track record, which included:

• War in South Vietnam (for clearing the jungle under helipads and eliminating enemy manpower, 1970),
• Conflict over the capture by the Cambodian Khmers of the Mayaguez ship (1975),
• Iraq Desert Storm Mission (1991),
• The Afghan Campaign (2001).

Despite the military merits, the BLU-82 had significant drawbacks - not enough high aerodynamic properties and the lack of guidance systems. Specialists from the Northrop-Grumman military-industrial company and Lockheed Martin Corporation developers volunteered to rectify the situation.

"Mother of all bombs"

The project proposed by the designers of a high-explosive projectile heavy bomb (the English abbreviation MOAB) was approved by the senior leadership of the US Air Force. By early 2003, the new GBU-43 was ready for testing.

In combat equipment, the aerial bomb weighed 9.84 tons (1.4 times more than the BLU-82). The projectile, having a length of 917 cm and a diameter of about a meter, quickly received an alternative decoding of the abbreviation - Mother Of All Bombs ("Mother of all bombs"). The photo gives an idea of ​​the comparative simplicity of the product’s design - 8.4 tons of H-6 explosive inside the metal case, which is more than 11 tons of TNT (addition of hexogen and aluminum powder to the TNT mass increases its efficiency by more than a third). At the same time, this type of explosive is highly stable, which allows you to safely store and transport huge ammunition.

The bomb is not equipped with a parachute - thanks to trellised rudders and aerodynamic bearing surfaces, it is able to plan, which together with the satellite guidance system guarantees high accuracy of hitting the target. The radius of the complete destruction of armored vehicles and enemy manpower is 140 meters, the shock wave is noticeable at a distance of more than 1.5 km from the epicenter.

First test

“Mother of all bombs” is a very unique and specific weapon in the sense that not every military transport aircraft is capable of delivering it to the place of combat work. In the US Air Force, only two models of aircraft are suitable for this purpose - the S-130 HERCULES "transporter" and the B-2 SPIRIT strategic bomber. A special parachute system is used to pull the load platform with a fixed MOAB. Leaving the plane, the "mother of all bombs" is freed from auxiliary devices and begins an independent flight.

In March 2003, the first inert projectile was discharged (instead of explosive, rubber or concrete to maintain weight characteristics), and four days after the aerodynamic performance was checked, a fully loaded MOAB was discharged (Eglin Base, Florida). The tests and results obtained impressed military experts, and manufacturers received an order for three such products.

Weapons of mass deterrence

In total, 15 combat units of the GBU-43 were manufactured. The cost of each sample is about $ 16 million. According to experts, the explosion of the “mother of all bombs” is characterized not only by an impressive destructive force, but, mainly, it is intended to show the enemy the strength and power of the United States, to have a demoralizing effect on the enemy warheads.

The first demonstration of formidable weapons was to be held in Iraq at the end of 2003. The aerial bomb was even delivered to the territory of the Arab state, but for a number of reasons it was not used for its intended purpose.

From a gun on sparrows

For about 15 years, the United States' most formidable non-nuclear munition has not found a worthy target.

Finally, on April 13, 2017, in the Nangarhar province of Afghanistan, the “mother of all bombs” was dropped on the underground network of Islamic militants. According to the White House press secretary, S. Spicer, caves and tunnels contributed to the free and uncontrolled movement of terrorists, which posed a real threat to the Afghan government forces and the lives of American military advisers.

Specialists carefully prepared the operation for several months. From the USA, the "mother of all bombs" to Afghanistan delivered the MC-130 aircraft to the place of combat work. SSA official authorities have not yet provided specific information about the results of the bombing, but President D. Trump approved the military’s actions, calling the mission "very successful." News agencies (for example, France-Presse), relying on information from their own sources, claim that 40 to 90 extremists could have suffered from an airstrike.

ISIS representatives completely deny such information, claiming that no damage was done to the underground infrastructure and manpower.

Many experts consider the operation a successful demonstration, warning other countries against conflicts with the United States, but completely devoid of any military tactical meaning.

Dad can ...

To date, the GBU-43 is not the most powerful weapon. The rating of the most destructive non-nuclear munitions is headed by the Russian high-power aviation vacuum bomb, named by analogy with the American MOAB, "the father of all bombs." Its power in TNT equivalent is four times greater than the overseas sample, and the area of ​​the affected surface is 20 times! In this case, the vacuum bomb has a significantly lower weight (the mass of explosives is 7.1 tons). The bomb was first dropped from the Tu-160 strategic bomber and successfully tested in September 2007. According to the results compiled a table of likely areas of damage.

An obvious plus of the Russian development is that bombing can be carried out under any weather conditions from altitudes from 200 to 1000 meters at speeds from 500 to 1100 km / h.