With a capability 4 times higher than any U.S. effort thus far, Russia unloaded the largest bomb of its type in a demonstration of its military prowess.
The bomb is equivalent to 44 tons of TNT, from a weight of only 7.8 tons of material. This compares to the American ‘Mother of All Bombs’ which uses 8 tons of explosive, and its comparable 11 tons of TNT.
The blast radius was quoted as 990 feet, or twice what the MOAB unit produces. The Russian bomb is described as ‘thermobaric’ which is the same designation as the MOAB.
Like its U.S. predecessor, first tested in 2003, the Russian bomb is a “thermobaric” weapon that explodes in an intense fireball combined with a devastating blast. It explodes in a terrifying nuclear bomb-like mushroom cloud and wreaks destruction through a massive shock wave created by the air burst and high temperature.
Thermobaric weapons work on the same principle that causes blasts in grain elevators and other dusty places — clouds of fine particles are highly explosive. Such explosions produce shock waves that can be directed and amplified in enclosed spaces such as buildings, caves or tunnels.
This brings back memories of the Cold War, and the build up of weapons on both sides. Though not nuclear, the massive destructive power was clearly developed with purpose.
Chilly relations between the U.S. and Russia have brought other reminders from a by-gone era, as regular patrols by strategic bombers have begun over the Russian airspace – something that was discontinued after the breakup of the U.S.S.R.
CNN report
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[tags] weapons buildup, non-nuclear, Russia, thermobaric explosions, MOAB, TNT, bomb test [/tags]