Fuel Bomb range?

L

LASur5r+P

New member
Our military forces has just used a fuel bomb on the Taliban army.

Does anybody have more info on this apparently devastating bomb? Range of effectiveness? Air bomb? Ground bomb?

Seems like it has wide path of destruction.

Thank you in advance for any info, opinions, etc...
 
From memory:
If I recall corectly the bomb contains a flammable of some sort, when the bomb is dropped this is spread in some way, maybe by using explosives so it forms a cloud of fuel/air mixture. Much like the fuel/air mixture in a engine. This is then ignited when the mix is close to perfect. Have heard it (from fairly reliable sources, though I can't remember wich at this moment) described as "poor mans A-bomb".

Should be very nasty to be on recieving end. Think it also sucks air out of bunkers etc. and/or the mix creaps into such places, making them unsafe as well.
 
Here you go;

http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/dumb/blu-82.htm


"BLU-82 Commando Vault
The BLU-82B/C-130 weapon system, nicknamed Commando Vault, is the high altitude delivery of a 15,000 pound general purpose bomb from a C-130. This system depends upon the accurate positioning of the aircraft by either a fixed ground radar or onboard navigation equipment. The ground radar controller or aircrew navigator as applicable, is responsible for positioning the aircraft prior to final countdown and release. Primary aircrew considerations include accurate ballistic and wind computations provided by the navigator, and precision instrument flying with strict adherence to controller instructions. The minimum altitude for release due to blast effects of the weapon is 6,000 feet AGL.

The BLU-82 is a 15,000 pound GP bomb originally designed to clear helicopter landing zones in Vietnam. The warhead contains 12,600 pounds of GSX slurry and is detonated just above ground level by a 38-inch fuze extender. The weapon produces an overpressure of 1,000 pounds per square inch. Eleven BLU-82s were dropped during Desert Storm, all from Special Operations C-130s. The initial drops were intended to test the ability of the bomb to clear mines; no reliable bomb damage assessment exist on mine clearing effectiveness. Later, bombs were dropped as much for their psychological effect as for their destructive power. "

Steve.
 
Fuel/Air Explosive (FAE)

There's also a Fuel/Air Explosive (FAE) described here:

http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/dumb/fae.htm

"Fuel-Air Explosives [FAE] disperse an aerosol cloud of fuel which is ignited by an embedded detonator to produce an explosion. The rapidly expanding wave front due to overpressure flattens all objects within close proximity of the epicenter of the aerosol fuel cloud, and produces debilitating damage well beyond the flattened area. The main destructive force of FAE is high overpressure, useful against soft targets such as minefields, armored vehicles, aircraft parked in the open, and bunkers. "

"Fuel/air explosive represent the military application of the vapor cloud explosions and dust explosions accidents that have long bedeviled a variety of industries. "
 
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