Errymath: MOAB

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    FILE PHOTO: A GBU-43/B bomb, or Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB) bomb © Global Look Press    
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US forces in Afghanistan have dropped America’s biggest 
non-nuclear weapon on Islamic State positions on the 
Afghanistan-Pakistan border – the first time this particular bomb has 
been used in combat. What’s so special about it?

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1. What’s in a name?</h2>
The
 weapon’s official designation is: Guided Bomb Unit, Massive Ordnance 
Air Blast. The acronym MOAB has also been rendered as the<i> “Mother Of All Bombs.”</i> The name is likely a reference to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s threat of the <i>“mother of all battles”</i> over Kuwait in 1991.<br />

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">A <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MOAB?src=hash">#MOAB</a> bomb strikes <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ISIS?src=hash">#ISIS</a> cave & tunnel systems in eastern <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Afghanistan?src=hash">#Afghanistan</a>. The strike was designed to minimize risk to Afghan and U.S. Forces <a href="https://t.co/7pfBYQzk5F">pic.twitter.com/7pfBYQzk5F</a></p>— U.S. Dept of Defense (@DeptofDefense) <a href="https://twitter.com/DeptofDefense/status/852849426318188544">April 14, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="in" dir="ltr">U.S. Bombs, Destroys Khorasan Group Stronghold in Afghanistan <a href="https://t.co/oDhjzaLuUw">https://t.co/oDhjzaLuUw</a> <a href="https://t.co/xOMsYD5grt">pic.twitter.com/xOMsYD5grt</a></p>— U.S. Air Force (@usairforce) <a href="https://twitter.com/usairforce/status/852604204644524033">April 13, 2017</a></blockquote>
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2. 14 years old and Vietnam-era Daisy Cutter’s daughter</h2>
The weapon was first tested in March 2003, just before the US invasion of Iraq. The MOAB is descended from the BLU-82B<em> 'Daisy Cutter,'</em>
 a Vietnam-era bomb that weighed 15,000 pounds (6,800 kg) and was used 
to clear jungle and desert minefields. The weapon was used with 
devastating effect against Iraqi troops in 1991. The last of the 225 
BLU-82s were expended by 2008 and officially replaced by the MOAB.<br />
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                   FILE PHOTO: The U.S. Air Force testing MOAB
explosive device nicknamed the "mother of all bombs."
© Department of Defense / Reuters     
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3. It is HUGE!</h2>
The GBU-43/B MOAB is the <em>“monster truck of American ordnance,”</em> wrote self-described<em> ‘war nerd’</em>
 columnist Gary Brecher in 2003. The MOAB weighs about 22,000 pounds, or
 just over 10,000 kg, and is the most powerful non-nuclear weapon in the
 US arsenal.<br />
It is packed with H6 explosive, which is about 1.35 
times more powerful than pure TNT for a 11-ton yield over a 1-mile (1.6 
km) radius. The bomb itself is 30 feet long (almost 10 meters) and 40 
inches (over 1 meter) in diameter and can only be dropped from specially
 modified C-130 transport planes.<br />

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">For the first time in history a GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb was used. The <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MOAB?src=hash">#MOAB</a> was used on an ISIS-K tunnel in Afghanistan. <a href="https://t.co/zI9d2CXOfa">pic.twitter.com/zI9d2CXOfa</a></p>— U.S. Air Force (@usairforce) <a href="https://twitter.com/usairforce/status/852620273996017664">April 13, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Breaking news graphic I did to provide context to the destructive force of the MOAB that was used in Afghanistan today. via <a href="https://twitter.com/indystar">@indystar</a> <a href="https://t.co/PNaZnFbXu2">pic.twitter.com/PNaZnFbXu2</a></p>— Michael Campbell (@campbell_m) <a href="https://twitter.com/campbell_m/status/852599809991200771">April 13, 2017</a></blockquote>
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                   FILE PHOTO: A Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB) weapon © Reuters / Reuters     
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4. It is scary</h2>
The MOAB’s function is primarily <em>“shock and awe”</em>:
 it is an air-burst weapon, creating pressure intended to collapse 
tunnels or bunkers and obliterate any enemy personnel caught in the 
blast radius.<br />
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                   FILE PHOTO: A Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB) weapon ©
DOD / AFP      
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5. It is expensive, reportedly costing $16 million apiece</h2>
The
 MOAB was built by the Alabama-based company Dynetics in cooperation 
with the US Air Force. The Pentagon has reportedly commissioned only 20 
bombs. The widely-reported cost-per-unit of the weapon is $16 million, 
with the entire program estimated at $314 million.<br />
There are, however, some reports that the figures <a href="http://dailycaller.com/2017/04/13/the-story-youve-been-hearing-about-the-mother-of-all-bombs-is-totally-wrong/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">may be inaccurate</a>
 and that the DoD never gave a public estimate of the weapon’s cost 
because it was developed in-house and the military didn’t keep track of 
the expenses the way private companies do.<br />
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6. And, there’s a Russian daddy</h2>
After the US tested the MOAB in 2003, Russia developed its own thermobaric weapon, nicknamed the <em>“Father of All Bombs”</em>
 and tested it in 2007. Very little is known about this weapon, but the 
Russian military says it is four times more powerful and has twice the 
blast radius of the American mega-bomb.<br />
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Russia says its version of "Mother of All Bombs," nicknamed "Father of All Bombs," is 4 times stronger than <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MOAB?src=hash">#MOAB</a> <a href="https://t.co/VgLYZfMmaa">https://t.co/VgLYZfMmaa</a></p>— Haaretz.com (@haaretzcom) <a href="https://twitter.com/haaretzcom/status/852571539035836417">April 13, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Russian <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FOAB?src=hash">#FOAB</a> 'Father Of All Bombs'. 4x the power of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MOAB?src=hash">#MOAB</a> <br>44 tons yield <a href="https://t.co/M2xc0qTGtt">pic.twitter.com/M2xc0qTGtt</a></p>— Lucid Hurricane™✘ (@Forever_Lucid) <a href="https://twitter.com/Forever_Lucid/status/852691423749181440">April 14, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Meet the ‘Mother Of All Bombs’: 6 facts about bomb dropped on Afghanistan

FILE PHOTO: A GBU-43/B bomb, or Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB) bomb © Global Look Press US forces in Afghanistan have dropp...

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Meet the ‘Mother Of All Bombs’: 6 facts about bomb dropped on Afghanistan

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