ODAB-500 is a series of Soviet / Russian-made aerosol bombs. The name of the series is an abbreviation of the phrase "volume-detonating aerial bomb." The numbers in the designation show the rounded weight of the ammunition. According to some reports, in the series there are bombs weighing 500, 1000, 1100 and 1500 kg.
Volume explosion mechanism
This type of aerial bomb uses a phenomenon in which a gas cloud explodes when instantly sublimates an initial liquid explosive. By a similar mechanism, explosions of dust clouds occur, known from the second half of the XIX century. Then, numerous volumetric explosions of clouds of combustible dust were recorded at flour mills and textile mills, coal dust in mines, etc. Somewhat later, already in the 20th century, explosions of steam clouds over oil products occurred in the holds of tankers and inside oil refineries and tank farms.
Most conventional explosives are a mixture of fuel with an oxidizing agent (gunpowder, for example, contains 25% fuel and 75% oxidizing agent), while a vapor-gas cloud is almost 100% fuel that uses oxygen from ambient air to generate an intense, high-temperature explosion. In practice, a blast wave resulting from the use of a volume-detonating ammunition has a significantly longer duration of exposure than from a conventional condensed explosive. Therefore, volumetric explosion bombs are much more powerful (in TNT equivalent) than conventional ammunition of equal mass.
But the dependence on atmospheric oxygen makes them unsuitable for use under water, at high altitude and in adverse weather conditions. However, they lead to significantly greater damage when used inside enclosed spaces such as tunnels, caves and bunkers, partly due to the duration of the blast wave, partly consuming the oxygen available inside. In terms of power and destructive power, these aerial bombs are second only to tactical nuclear weapons.
Development history
Volume-detonating aerial bombs were developed by the Germans during the Second World War, but they did not have time to use them until its completion. In the post-war period, other countries also experimented with this weapon (in Western terminology it is called thermobaric, and the erroneous term "vacuum bombs" has taken root in the domestic media). It was first used in Vietnam by the United States, which, however, denied this fact. The first American thermobaric bomb with an explosive effect comparable to the detonation of nine tons of TNT, weighed 1,180 kg and was designated BLU-76B.
Soviet scientists and designers quickly developed their own weapons of this type, which were first used in cross-border conflict with China in 1969 and in Afghanistan against the mountain refuge of Islamic militants. Since then, research and development has continued.
The ODAB-500 was developed by the Basalt State Scientific Production Enterprise in Moscow in the 1980s. It was introduced to the public in the early 1990s. In 1995, a modified version of the ODAB-500PM was shown at an exhibition in Paris. In 2002, the international arms exhibition Russian Expo Arms was held. A modified ODAB-500PMV aerial bomb was presented and offered for sale on it. Ammunition sales are carried out through Aviaexport and Rosoboronexport.
The Russian Aerospace Forces currently have a wide range of thermobaric weapons, which were used in the 90s during the war in Chechnya, and are also actively used during the operation against the ISIS terrorist organization in Syria. Relatively inexpensive and easy to maintain, these weapons have been in the arsenals of many countries for decades.
The original version of the bomb
It was designated ODAB-500P and had a mechanical non-contact fuse. The algorithm of his work includes the ejection of a cable harness from the nose of a flying bomber with a leader contact device at the end. The braking of the leader by the earth's surface (or ground obstacle) leads to the operation of the contacts of the inertial contactor included in the circuit, undermining the body of the bomb and the release of 145 kg of liquid explosives into the air. After a short time delay, sufficient for the formation of a gas cloud, the initiating charge installed in the rear part is blown up, and a volume explosion begins.
Modified Aerial Bombs
The serial version of the ODAB-500PM with a radio altimeter can be dropped from an airplane from a height of 200 to 12,000 meters and at a speed of 50-1500 km / h. At an altitude of 30 to 50 m, a brake parachute is thrown to stabilize the bomb body and slow its fall. At the same time, a radio altimeter is launched, measuring the instant height of the ammunition above the ground. At a height of 7 to 9 m, the bomb's body is detonated, and 193 kg of unknown explosive liquid are sprayed in the air, after which a gas cloud is formed. With a delay of 100 to 140 milliseconds, this cloud detonates by undermining the additional charge. An explosion creates a very high temperature and pressure from 20 to more than 30 bar for a short time. The force of the explosion is approximately equivalent to 1000 kg of TNT. The effective range against field fortifications is 25 m. For cars and aircraft, as well as for live targets, the radius of the bomb is 30 m.
The ODAB-500PMV version is optimized for use from helicopters at a bombing altitude of 1100-4000 m at a speed of 50-300 km / h, although it can also be dropped from aircraft, i.e. it is all-altitude.
Design
The ODAB-500 bomb (and its modifications) has a cylindrical elongated body shape with a circular cross section and a pointed tip. On its back there are four flat stabilizers, around which an annular wing is located. In front of the bomb is an electromechanism of a combat platoon. In the central part is a cylindrical container with a liquid explosive and a dispersing charge. At the rear of the bomb there is a container for the braking parachute and initiating secondary charge. The length of the ammunition is 2.28-2.6 m, and the weight is from 520 to 525 kg, depending on the version. The diameter of the hull is 500 mm, and the wingspan of the stabilizers is also about 500 mm.
"The father of all bombs"
In September 2007, the world flew around the frames of the test of the new Russian heavy-duty volumetric bomb, which immediately received the nickname put in the title of this section. Describing its destructive power, the deputy chief of the Russian General Staff, Alexander Rukshin, said: "Everything that is alive just evaporates."
This munition, which received the ODAB-9000 symbol in the media (the validity is still unknown), is reportedly four times more powerful than the American thermobaric bomb GBU-43 / B, which is often called the mother of all bombs in the media . This Russian ammunition has become the most powerful conventional (non-nuclear) weapon in the world.
The power of ODAB-9000 is equivalent to 44 tons of TNT when using about seven tons of a new type of explosive. For comparison: an American bomb is equivalent to 11 tons of TNT with 8 tons of liquid explosives.
Although the explosive power and shock wave of the Russian bomb are much smaller, they are still comparable to tactical nuclear munitions of minimum power (they are comparable, but not equal!). Unlike nuclear weapons, known for their radioactive fallout, the use of volumetric explosion weapons does not damage or pollute the environment outside the radius of the explosion.
The Russian bomb is smaller than the GBU-43 / B, but much more dangerous, because the temperature in the center of its explosion is two times higher, and the radius of the Russian ammunition explosion is 300 meters, which is also twice as large.