Father of All Bombs
"The Father of All Bombs" (FOAB) | |
---|---|
Blast yield | 44 t (97,000 lb) of TNT |
Aviation Thermobaric Bomb of Increased Power (ATBIP),[a] nicknamed "Father of All Bombs" (FOAB; Russian: "Папа всех бомб", Пвб[b]), is a Russian-designed, bomber-delivered thermobaric weapon.
This weapon was claimed to be the most powerful conventional (non-nuclear) weapon in the world, more powerful than GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast, which is often unofficially called "Mother of All Bombs" or MOAB.[1][2]
FOAB was successfully field-tested in the late evening of 11 September 2007.[3] As of 2022[update] it was the sole known test of this weapon and its details are still undisclosed.[4]
Claims
The FOAB device allegedly yields the equivalent of 44 tons of
According to General Aleksandr Rukshin, the Russian Deputy Chief of the General Staff, the new bomb was smaller than the MOAB but much deadlier because the temperature at the centre of the blast is twice as high.[3][6][7]
Analysis and veracity
Some defense analysts question both the
Weapons analyst Sascha Lange of German SWP speaking at Deutsche Welle pointed out multiple discrepancies in the released Russian video and expressed his skepticism about the Russian claim.[9]
John Pike, an analyst at the think tank
Robert Hewson, an editor for
See also
- Massive Ordnance Penetrator
- Grand Slam (bomb)
- Soviet atomic bomb project
- Tsar Bomba
Notes
- ^ Russian: Авиационная вакуумная бомба повышенной мощности (АВБПМ), romanized as Aviatsonnaya vakuumaya bomba povyshennoy moshchnosti (AVBPM) or scientifically transliterated as Aviacionnaja vakuumaja povyšennoj bomba moščnosti.
- ^ Transliterated as Papa vsekh bomb (PVB)
References
- ^ Guardian Unlimited. Retrieved 2007-09-12.
- ^ Gigova, Radina (2017-04-20). "Meet the Russian 'father of all bombs'". CNN. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
- ^ a b Ilya Kramnik (2007-09-12). Кузькин отец … [On 11 September 2007, the most powerful non-nuclear bomb was tested in Russia] (in Russian). Lenta.ru. Retrieved 2007-09-12.
- better source needed]
- ^ a b "Russia tests giant fuel-air bomb". BBC News. 2007-09-12. Retrieved 2008-03-18.
- ^ Adrian Blomfield (2007-09-12). "Russian army 'tests the father of all bombs'". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 2007-10-13. Retrieved 2007-09-12.
- ^ Российская вакуумная бомба сравнима по мощности с ядерным боеприпасом [A Russian vacuum bomb is comparable in power to a nuclear weapon]. newsribbon.ru (in Russian). 2007-09-12. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-12.
- ^ Wired.com. October 4, 2007. Archivedfrom the original on 2014-08-19. Retrieved 2007-10-04.
- ^ "Questionable Claims". Deutsche Welle. 2007-09-14. Retrieved 2024-03-25.