US to test the 'mother of all bombs'
The US Air Force scheduled a test today of the biggest conventional bomb in the world, a 21,000-pound device that could play a dramatic role in an attack on Iraq.
The bomb, known as the Massive Ordnance Air Blast, or MOAB, and unofficially nicknamed the Mother of All Bombs, is guided to its target by satellite signals. This was to be its first live test.
The bomb is so powerful that its detonation was expected to create a mushroom cloud visible for miles.
The US military is putting the final pieces of combat power in place in anticipation of an order by Bush to attack Iraq and depose Saddam. More than 200,000 US forces are now within striking range.
The Air Force bomb scheduled for its initial test in Florida is much bigger than another other conventional bomb. The next-biggest is the 15,000-pound BLU-82, dubbed the Daisy Cutter.
Jake Swinson, spokesman for the Air Armament Centre at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida said there would be no on-site news coverage of the test for safety reasons, but an Air Force chase plane would take video that would be made available later.
Other officials said the Air Force expected to have the bomb available for use in an Iraq war.
“If the warfighter wanted to use it, I’m sure we could make some available,” Swinson said, adding that he had no information on whether or when the weapon might be used in combat.
