One of the Weapons Likely to Be Used in Iraq: MOAB - 2003-03-20

The United States Air Force has added a new weapon to its arsenal: a second-generation bomb that explodes close to the ground, primarily designed to clear landing zones and destroy enemies before military forces arrive. The older generation, known as the 'Daisy Cutter,' weighed 7.5 tons (7500 kg) and was developed in the 1960s for the Vietnam War. It got its name because it had a flower-like blade at the end of its tail, designed to avoid creating craters upon explosion; helicopters that needed to deploy troops disliked craters. Later, instead of flower blades, radar altimeters were used to determine the explosion timing, but the old name remained. The new bomb, called MOAB (Massive Ordnance Air Burst), which can also be pronounced as 'Mother of All Bombs' (a jab at Saddam!), weighs 10 tons and produces a terrifying explosion comparable to a small atomic bomb, without the radiation and issues associated with nuclear bombs. Unlike the 'Daisy Cutter,' the new bomb does not require a parachute and uses GPS (Global Positioning System) for targeting. The body of the MOAB is made of cobalt alloy and is aerodynamically designed to penetrate up to 30 meters into the ground before exploding, thus destroying deeply constructed bunkers. The explosion of this new bomb, whose use has been publicly announced and whose images have been shared online, burns air for hundreds of meters and sends a mushroom-shaped cloud of dirt and smoke into the sky. Pentagon officials state that the initial attack on Iraq will begin with a wave of 'shock and awe,' clearly intending to intimidate those Iraqi forces that plan to resist. The explosion of the MOAB not only kills hundreds but also launches tanks and armored vehicles into the air, crushing everything in its path. The experience of using the previous generation bomb in the 1991 Gulf War and in Afghanistan has shown that the psychological blow it inflicts on enemy morale creates severe fear and psychological turmoil. After the first Gulf War against Iraq, the U.S. began to destroy the 'Daisy Cutter' and aimed to phase it out. However, some remained in storage. The war against Al-Qaeda terrorists in the caves of Afghanistan, along with the knowledge that the Russians were also working on such bombs, led the U.S. to resume research for producing a new generation of Fuel Air Explosives (FAE). These types of bombs contain a gel-like flammable substance that fills the air with combustible material (which can be a mixture of ammonium nitrate with aluminum powder or diesel and cooking gas) before exploding. It is possible that U.S. military researchers are investigating or producing larger FAEs, but for now, the MOAB is the most terrifying non-nuclear weapon in the world. (Sources: www.strategypage.com and www.nationalreview.com)