FAEs

[BEagle]

Just been reading (open sources) about the effectiveness of Fuel Air Explosive ('vacuum bomb') weapons, particularly against terrorists holed up in caves.......

Be afraid, bin Liner, very afraid!!

...and the effect of the 1000 psi overpressure created by low level detonation of the 12000 lb BLU-82 weapon should equally give him pause for thought!

[KentBrockman]

yeah ive just been reading too (oh me head hurts) about what a nasty rash you can get off stinging nettles. Particularly on bare feet.

Look for the Doc leaves, bin laden

sorry beagle, im bored

[Ex F111]

FAE

Cool......!

[Broken Wings]

And I thought it meant F*$! All Else would get him.

[Rusty Cessna]

Sounds interesting BEagle, where were you reading about that? Is it a book you have, or is it a freely available source on the net, sounds like it might be worth a read?

Thanks,
Rusty.

[oldpinger]

Without wanting to get into a "gosh what a big bomb, I'll get my stepladder" post, There was a palletised jobby they used to roll out the back of a C130 to make instant V large LZs in the Vietnam jungle- nothing above calf/knee level and big enough for a lot of hueys to land in- video (open) exists somewhere of this thing going off, quite spectacular.
Concur about the FAEs- think the Film "Outbreak" features one. It was compared to a small Nuke in explosive power.
All a bit scary if you ask me...

[BEagle]

The 'large bomb rolled out of a C130' was the BLU-82 'daisycutter'. Originally proposed for creating 'instant' helicopter landing areas in Viet Nam, it was also used in the Gulf War to try and punch gaps in minefields by detonating the mines with the colossal overpressure. Its effects were later used in psyops to 'encourage' Iraqis to surrender or face the 'world's biggest bomb' being dropped on them.

I was going to include the 'effects' of FAE weapons as described on the website, but they are rather unpleasant for the faint hearted. Basically a primary charge creates a vapour of explosive fuel which is then detonated by a secondary charge. The result is an intense fireball plus a very high compression/rarefaction effect. So, as the vapour can seep into caves and valleys quite effectively, the timing of the scondary charge can be optimised to maximise the overpressure/vacuum effect in such applications. If neither the toxic vapour, fireball nor initial blast pulse 'smoked the terrorists out of their holes', then the vacuum effect would certainly destroy them in their lairs.

It takes a few minutes on an internet search engine to find more details - and a particularly impressive sequence of shots showing a FAE detonation at the US test range at China Lake.

[ 16 October 2001: Message edited by: BEagle ]

[oldpinger]

Try this one- on the China lake website

China lake test

or this one
http://www.nawcwpns.navy.mil/~bronkh...f/faeship.html

once again- ouch!!

[ 16 October 2001: Message edited by: oldpinger ]

[Seven of Nine]

There is a good piece about the use of the BLU-82 in the Gulf, in the book Storm Over Iraq. They detonated the first one in the middle of the empty desert, a few ks from the closest Iraqi positions. Many witnesses thought they'd seen a nuke go off! The MC-130E that dropped it, then flew over the Iraqi positions, dropping leaflets, which informed the unfortunate troops that they were next on the target list. This resulted in the defection of an entire battalion that night!

[SET 18]

With the possible continuance of biological weapons' being used by Bin Liner, how long can it be before Bush acts? I think that Bush is perfectly capable, even likely, of telling BL that if he chooses to move the goalposts in such a way, then the US is capable of moving them still further. What likelihood that, in the face of a continuing biological terrorism campaign, Bush Nukes parts of Afghanistan?
Personally, I think that this is likely, especially if the bio-terrorism is stepped up. Even cave dwellers would have a hard time hiding from instant sunshine and its effects. Any thoughts?

[FE Hoppy]

Not a chance. Nuke an Islamic country and you start the third big one for sure. Even the allies would not support it.
There will be no step up in the bio war. It is probably some young angst ridden chem grad from the states anyway.

[Gainesy]

You don't need a Herc or similar to chuck FAEs from. The second generation (FAE II) come in 500lb (BLU-95) and 2,000lb (BLU-96) versions which makes them much more useful in terms of aiming/accuracy/tactics etc.

Also, do a Google search on BLEVE which stands for Boiling Liquid [Gas] Expanding Vapour Explosion. Its pronounced Blevvy and is a firefighter's nightmare.

Propane, being heavier than air, will penetrate tunnels/bunkers etc before detonating-- how convenient.

[MightyGem]

Have a look here for the Russian view: http://www.ichkeria.org/a/2000/9/com1609-en132823.html

[Decision Altitude]

Where would the Geneva Convention stand on the use of such weapons I wonder?

Awesome footage though, definately the new Nuke without the fallout.

DA

[Hagbard the Amateur]

All I can say looking at these links is Jeeeezzzzuuuussss. Scary. We don't read this stuff in our daily papers either. Can't we make food or energy dispensers that are so efficient?

[fobotcso]

Quite takes my breath away.

[oldpinger]

Hagbard,
If you could convince the arms companies that it was as profitable to make water purifiers and energy sources rather than weapons- Bobs your mothers brother!

Saw a rather scary documentary a while ago about a bunch of swiss scientists designing new and more exciting ways of maiming people- They were firing 5.56mm rounds into blocks of gelatine to simulate human flesh, trying to build a more 'efficient' bullet......

ps not having a dig ref your location but it reminded me of the program.