officially the Aviation Thermobaric Bomb of Increased Power, in 2007. It is a thermo baric super-powerful non-nuclear bomb that has a blast equivalent to more than 44 tons of TNT. Thermobaric bombs or vacuum bombs are controversial because they are much more devastating than conventional explosives of similar size. The term thermobaric is derived from the Greek words for 'heat' and 'pressure': thermobarikos (), from thermos () 'hot' + baros () 'weight, pressure' + suffix -ikos (-) '-ic'. Comb. "[70][71] The firm showed them at the Azerbaijan International Defense Exhibition in 2018. Different fuels can be used, including toxic powdered metals and organic matter containing oxidant. Now the name vacuum bomb comes from the secondary effect you get from using this system where all the oxygen in the area gets used up in the blast leaving a void of no or little oxygen. [72], Mexico, Switzerland and Sweden presented in 1980 a joint motion to the United Nations to prohibit the use of thermobaric weapons, to no avail. The bomb's thin aluminium casing was designed specifically to maximise the blast radius. Its blast radius is 1 mile and yield is equivalent to 11 tons, or 22,000 lbs, of TNT. [2][3], Thermobaric weapons are almost 100% fuel and as a result are significantly more energetic than conventional explosives of equal weight. It draws on the Geneva Conventions to define the illegitimacy of Moscows actions, including its use or potential use of particular weapons. ", 10.1002/1521-4087(200211)27:5<300::AID-PREP300>3.0.CO;2-#, High explosive disseminator for a high explosive air bomb, Compatibility Of Thermobaric Mixtures Based On Isopropyl Nitrate And Metal Powders, Fundamental and Applied Studies of Fuel-Air Detonation, Advanced Thermobaric Explosive Compositions, New Thermobaric Materials and Weapon Concepts, "Backgrounder on Russian Fuel Air Explosives ("Vacuum Bombs") | Human Rights Watch", "Main Types of Artillery Ammunition in 1914-1918", "What are thermobaric weapons? [46] The 300mm (12in) 9M55S thermobaric cluster warhead rocket was built to be fired from the BM-30 Smerch MLRS. Sebastian Roblin, a military expert, writing for 19fortyfive.com, said: "A TOS-1 rocket barrage will wipe out everything within the 200-by-300m blast zone.". While they werent originally designed to be used in urban areas, vacuum bombs could be particularly lethal if shot into building complexes and other densely populated regions, he added. When deployed, thermobaric ordnance is a devastating weapon as it employs oxygen from the surrounding air to generate a high-temperature explosion. Watch the video below for more information about this weapon and its devastating impact.". Current American FAE munitions include the following: The XM1060 40-mm grenade is a small-arms thermobaric device, which was delivered to US forces in April 2003. They have come to be known under many names - enhanced blast weapons, vacuum bombs, or even a 'poor man's nuclear weapon', because of the dramatic impact that they can have upon combatants, especially those in confined spaces. A TOS-1 blast is said to generate a pressure of 30.02 kg per square centimeter, which is double the amount of pressure generated by conventional bomb blasts, and regular air pressure is 0.98 kg per square centimeter. The weapon can destroy reinforced buildings, equipment and kill or injure people. The destructive weapon is dropped from a jet and detonates . The lethal radius is around fifty meters making it one . The nuclear weapons ban treaty is groundbreaking, even if the nuclear powers haven't signed. This created an explosion equivalent to a 44-tonne conventional bomb - making it the biggest non-nuclear explosive device in the world. Aerial bombs, even if aimed at military objectives, pose a grave threat to civilians because of their wide blast radius. Health and Safety Environmental Agency, 5th and final report, 2008. Inst. Its kind of like the neutron bomb: There was no prohibition against it, but everybody just realized how horrible it was and they didnt want that, Johnson said. Russia has confirmed it used a deadly 'lung-busting' thermobaric bomb in Ukraine. shown thermobaric rocket launchers on Russias TOS-1 vehicles. ", "Ukraine's ambassador to US says Russia used a vacuum bomb, international groups say banned cluster munitions used to strike shelter", "The Ukraine crisis and the international law of armed conflict (LOAC): some Q & A", "Father of all bombs': Russia's brutal weapon", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Thermobaric_weapon&oldid=1152073297, Articles with dead external links from April 2020, Short description is different from Wikidata, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Wikipedia articles needing clarification from March 2022, Articles with disputed statements from April 2023, Articles containing potentially dated statements from November 2022, All articles containing potentially dated statements, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Demonstration of an open-air dust explosion, This page was last edited on 28 April 2023, at 01:08. A second charge ignites that cloud, creating a fireball, a huge shock wave, and a vacuum as it sucks up all surrounding oxygen. On 3 March 2002, a single 2,000lb (910kg) laser guided thermobaric bomb was used by the United States Air Force against cave complexes in which Al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters had taken refuge in the Gardez region of Afghanistan. And why should they be banned? The pressure generated by a TOS-1 blast amounts to 427 pounds per square-inchfor comparison, most conventional bomb blasts create roughly half that amount, and regular air pressure is fourteen pounds per square inch. Ukraines government and human rights groups say Russia has also used cluster munitions. Russian-made thermobaric weapons were reportedly used in the Syrian civil war by the regime of Bashar al-Assad. Given their devastating impact, and their usefulness against defenders who are dug in to buildings or bunkers, thermobaric bombs have mainly been used in urban environments. Unnecessary suffering Efforts to ban these weapons have not yet produced a . FOAB's blast radius is said to be 300 metres, twice that of the BLU-82. After the explosion of the main charge ScienceDirect of a thermobaric/enhanced blast explosive (TBX/EBX) occurs, the post-detonation reaction (namely, burning of Al, etc.) It is reported that Bashar Al-Assad's regime used a vacuum bomb in the strike. 1189, Comb. Defense Intelligence Agency, "Future Threat to the Soldier System, Volume I; Dismounted Soldier Middle East Threat", September 1993, p. 73. Also known as aerosol or vacuum bombs, these can . The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. [57], In 1996, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) began development of the PF-97, a portable thermobaric rocket launcher, based on the Soviet RPO-A Shmel. VideoThe secret mine that hid the Nazis' stolen treasure, LGBT troops take love for Eurovision to front line. the Father of All Bombs is technically a thermobaric aerosol bomb. The bomb called the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast can obliterate everything within a 1,000-yard radius. How do vacuums bombs work? Using explosive weapons in populated areas would result in indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks. Write an article and join a growing community of more than 163,400 academics and researchers from 4,609 institutions. The Father-Of-All-Bombs (FOAB) has a payload equivalent to forty-four tons of TNT. Thermobaric weapons are controversial because they are much more devastating than conventional explosives of similar size, and have a terrible impact on anyone caught in their blast radius. #StandWithUkraine . Launched in a rocket or artillery shell, the first explosive charge spreads an aerosol akin to vaporized gasoline over the area. Russia's 'father of all bombs' is a thermobaric bomb with a destruction radius of nearly 300 metres and a blast yield of nearly 44 tonnes of TNT. Thermobaric bombs are devastating and effective in urban areas or open . The result is a sustained high pressure that is extremely effective against people and structures. There is very little that can protect humans and other life forms from their blast and incendiary effects. [55], United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research categorizes these weapons as "enhanced blast weapons" and there was pressure to regulate these around 2010, again to no avail.[73]. Its just a horrible, devastating weapon, said David Johnson, a retired U.S. Army colonel and a principal researcher at the Rand Corporation, a nonprofit policy research organization headquartered in California. For years, America's MOABs have lain dormant: the high potential for collateral had kept the weapon out of action, with smaller and more precise JDAMs and Hellfire . Thermobaric weapons are generally deployed as rockets or bombs, and they work by releasing fuel and explosive charges. At the time of development, it was said to be the most powerful non-nuclear weapon in the American arsenal. IE 11 is not supported. The U.S.S.R. first tested a hydrogen bomb on August 12, 1953, followed by the United Kingdom in May 1957, China (1967), and France (1968). It is these very real dangers that led 122 states at the United Nations to vote in favour of developing the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in 2017. Markarova did not provide additional details and NBC News has not independently verified that the weapon has been used in Ukraine, but Russian thermobaric rocket launchers have been photographed entering the country by a CNN team. At some point, the Russians are going to bump into something, whether its in one of the cities or a defensive position, and that will be their weapon of choice.. Description. Given their use is pretty standard in terms of Russian tactics, Hellyer said he expected to see more thermobaric warfare in Ukraine. Audio, 00:00:42'Bunker Buster' even bigger than MOAB. First, in 2001 to try to destroy al-Qaeda forces hiding in the caves of the Tora Bora mountains, and in 2017, against Islamic State forces. takes plays with air . It was first tested in 2003. Thermobaric weapons are controversial because they are much more devastating than conventional explosives of similar size, and have a terrible impact on anyone caught in their blast radius. The TOS-1A uses thermobaric rockets, creating incendiary and blast effects. Its clear that the Ukrainians are hunkering down in some of the cities as that continues the Russians are going to resort more and more to using whatever weapons they have including thermobaric weapons in built-up urban areas., Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, 2023 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. One of the things we know about Russian tactics is that they are willing to destroy everything. This creates a high-temperature fireball and a massive shockwave that literally sucks the air out of any living being in the vicinity. The RPO-A and either the TGB-7V thermobaric rocket from the RPG-7 or rockets from either the RShG-1 or the RShG-2 is claimed to have been used by the Spetsnaz during the initial storming of the school. As Putin puts nuclear forces on high alert, here are 5 genuine nuclear dangers for us all. It can also be called as Aerosol bombs, Vacuum bombs or fuel-air explosives. [27], The first attempts occurred during the First World War when incendiary shells (in German 'Brandgranate') used a slow but intense burning material, such as tar impregnated tissue and gunpowder dust. [39], It was thought that, during the September 2004 Beslan school hostage crisis, a multitude of handheld thermobaric weapons were used by the Russian Armed Forces in their efforts to retake the school. Efforts to ban these weapons have not yet produced a clear prohibition. They were not widely developed until the 1960s, when the US used them in Vietnam. The US military has just dropped its largest conventional (that is non-nuclear) bomb for the first time in combat, on Afghanistan's eastern province of Nangarhar. [96], The Russia and Syrian governments have used thermobaric bombs and other thermobaric munitions during the Syrian civil war against insurgents and insurgent-held civilian areas. The United States has used these weapons in Vietnam and in the mountains of Afghanistan. [16][17], A thermobaric bomb's effective yield depends on a combination of a number of factors such as how well the fuel is dispersed, how rapidly it mixes with the surrounding atmosphere and the initiation of the igniter and its position relative to the container of fuel. In 2004, under request of EMAER (Estado Maior da Aeronutica - Military Staff of Aeronautics) and DIRMAB (Diretoria de Material Aeronutico e Blico - Board of Aeronautical and Military Equipment) the IAE (Instituto de Aeronautica e Espao - Institute of Aeronautics and Space) started developing a Thermobaric project called Trocano . The explosive charge disperses a large cloud of fuel which then ignites in contact with the oxygen in the surrounding air. [5] Many types of thermobaric weapons can be fitted to hand-held launchers,[6][7] and can also be launched from airplanes. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. A TOS-1 blast is twice as powerful as most conventional bomb blasts, and victims close to the blast radius are instantly crushed to death. Thermobaric weapons spread fine carbon metal particles into the air before igniting them. If true, this represents an escalation in brutality that should alarm us all. Symp. Because of this, the bomb's blast and pressure wave have a similar effect to a small tactical nuclear weapon. Several variants in the prolific KAB family of guided bombs come with thermobaric warheads, as does the S-8 rocket and several other types of Russian air-launched munitions. [40], The RPO-A and upgraded RPO-M are infantry-portable rocket propelled grenades (RPGs), designed to fire thermobaric rockets. The US relied on them in its attempts to eliminate al-Qaida in the mountains in Afghanistan. [61], In 2009, the British Ministry of Defence (MoD) acknowledged that Army Air Corps (AAC) AgustaWestland Apaches had used AGM-114 Hellfire missiles purchased from the United States against Taliban forces in Afghanistan. Russia's military offensive against Ukraine could likely escalate if Vladimir Putin uses thermobaric weapons to flatten the former Soviet territory, worried experts have warned.. Thermobaric weapons are considered to be one of the most brutal war weapons that exist. Russia has not signed (nor has the US, China or India), but until now it has largely respected the conventions provisions. [100] The explosive used by the bombers in the US 1993 World Trade Center bombing incorporated the FAE principle by using three tanks of bottled hydrogen gas to enhance the blast. A TOS-1 blast generates a pressure of 30.02 kilograms per square centimeter, double the amount of pressure generated by conventional bomb blasts. In all likelihood, many civilians would be killed if such bombs were used in any city. International law says Putin's war against Ukraine is illegal. [66], The design and the development of the round was taken up by Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE). Read about our approach to external linking. The most common weapon of this type is the fuel-air explosive (FAE), a two-charge weapon that disperses and detonates a chemical cloud, creating a powerful blast wave that is particularly potent against fortified or otherwise enclosed positions like bunkers and foxholes. The grenades, of approximately 600 grams, "create a two second fire cloud with a volume of not less than 13 m, inside of which the temperature reaches 2,500 degrees. A thermobaric bomb explosion during the Caucasus 2016 strategic drills. Another Defense Intelligence Agency document speculates that, because the "shock and pressure waves cause minimal damage to brain tissue it is possible that victims of FAEs are not rendered unconscious by the blast, but instead suffer for several seconds or minutes while they suffocate". The cloud of fuel flows around objects and into structures. [50] The 9M120 Ataka-V and the 9K114 Shturm ATGMs both have thermobaric variants. The blast wave generated by these explosives is . Device producing a high-temperature explosion. The GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast is the largest conventional bomb . 2023 BBC. [55] A prototype was tested successfully in a foreign location out of safety and confidentiality concerns. The RPO-M, for instance, has a thermobaric warhead with a TNT equivalence of 5.5kg (12lb) and destructive capabilities similar to a 152mm (6in) high-explosive fragmentation artillery shell. When the PBXN-112 detonates, the aluminum mixture is dispersed and rapidly burns. Its really horrendous.. A thermobaric bomb uses some type of arousal that turns the oxygen in the air surrounding the impact as fuel for a massive fiery explosion. The bomb works by detonating in mid-air. 19,4 (1976). No. Thermobaric weapons clearly seem to meet this definition. The potential use of vacuum bombs is of particular concern because these thermobaric munitions are designed to cause immense destruction. The FOAB was tested in Syria for the time in 2017. An improved version called the PF-97A was introduced in 2008. Russian Army thermobaric weapons at a defense exhibition Aug. 25. This temperature allows not only for the destruction of the enemy, but are also able to disable lightly armored vehicles. One of Russias latest short-range ballistic missile systems, theIskander-M,is compatible with thermobaric warheads. In 2003, the US tested a 9,800kg bomb, nicknamed the "Mother of all bombs". They were targeted against mine fields and personnel in trenches, but were more useful as a psychological weapon. A fuelair explosive (FAE) device consists of a container of fuel and two separate explosive charges. The antipersonnel effect of the blast wave is more severe in foxholes and tunnels and in enclosed spaces, such as bunkers and caves. The ODAB-500PM and ODAB-500PMV[49] unguided bombs carry a 190kg (420lb) fuelair explosive each. Mark Episkopos is a national security reporter for theNational Interest. Everything inside that would be vaporized, essentially, he said. Copyright 20102023, The Conversation US, Inc. Thermobaric weapons create a high-temperature fireball and a massive shockwave that literally sucks the air out of any living being in the vicinity. It said: "The TOS-1A uses thermobaric rockets, creating incendiary and blast effects." The use of such weapons against civilians, however, is prohibited by the Geneva Conventions and could constitute war crimes. The war in Ukraine is the latest reminder that we must act to eliminate thermobaric, cluster, and nuclear weapons, under strict international control. Lester W. Grau and Timothy L. Thomas (Marine Corps Gazette, April 2000) ", Armament Research and Development Establishment, Azerbaijan International Defense Exhibition, United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research, Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, "What are thermobaric weapons and how do they work? 2023 BBC. Is climate change killing Australian wine? [4] Their reliance on atmospheric oxygen makes them unsuitable for use under water, at high altitude, and in adverse weather. The KAB-1500S GLONASS/GPS guided 1,500kg (3,300lb) bomb also has a thermobaric variant. Detonation of the last BLU-82. Those at the fringe are likely to suffer many internal, invisible injuries, including burst eardrums and crushed inner ear organs, severe concussions, ruptured lungs and internal organs, and possibly blindness." The use of weapons in indiscriminate attacks those that cannot distinguish between combatants and civilians - is forbidden by the Geneva Conventions. Read more: 'Bunker Buster' even bigger than MOAB. As the name implies, the shells, when they hit a target, produce blast overpressure and heat energy for hundreds of milliseconds. [67][68], The company BALKAN NOVOTEH Ltd, formed in 2011, provides the Thermobaric hand grenade TG-1 to the market. . Has Russia used thermobaric weapons in Ukraine? [101][102], Jemaah Islamiyah bombers used a shock-dispersed solid fuel charge,[103] based on the thermobaric principle,[104] to attack the Sari nightclub during the 2002 Bali bombings. Is climate change killing Australian wine? 1 mile Just how powerful is the MOAB? Russia's big-bomb thermobaric leap came in 2007, when it unveiled its Father of All Bombs (FOAB), a true thermobaric munition, (unlike the BLU-82), claimed to be four times more powerful than the MOAB. The Russian military operates one of the worlds largest and most diverse arsenals of thermobaric explosivesbut just how much of a threat are these weapons, and how has the Kremlin used them in the past? By far the most famousand controversialthermobaric weapon is Russias Aviation Thermobaric Bomb of Increased Power, also known as theFather of All Bombs (FOAB). Further from the blast zone, pressure can break bones, dislocate eyes, cause internal haemorrhaging . Close in, blast from the dispersal charge, compressing and heating the surrounding atmosphere, has some influence on the lower limit. File photo: Handout The United States just Image source, Getty Images. [38][39] The Russian armed forces have developed thermobaric ammunition variants for several of their weapons, such as the TBG-7V thermobaric grenade with a lethality radius of 10m (33ft), which can be launched from a rocket propelled grenade (RPG) RPG-7. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. They are, however, considerably more effective when used in enclosed spaces such as tunnels, buildings, and non-hermetically sealed field fortifications (foxholes, covered slit trenches, bunkers).[9][10]. Dr Marcus Hellyer, senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said while it was not clear if they had been deployed yet by Russia in Ukraine, it was only a matter of time. Russia has systems right across the spectrum from quite small tactical weapons, to huge, air-launched bombs. and contained 160 g (5.6 oz) of explosive, its lethality radius is 3 m (9.8 ft), but due to the deliberate "fragmentation-free" design of the grenade, a distance of 4 m (13 . The MOAB weighs 22,600 lbs, filled with 18,700 lbs of explosives. Thermobaric bombs generally detonate in two stages: a small blast creates a cloud of explosive material which is then ignited, generating a devastating pressure wave. The typical blast wave of a thermobaric weapon lasts significantly longer than that of a conventional explosive. In contrast to an explosive that uses oxidation in a confined region to produce a blast front emanating from a single source, a thermobaric flame front accelerates to a large volume, which produces pressure fronts within the mixture of fuel and oxidant and then also in the surrounding air. The upper limit has been demonstrated to influence the ignition of fogs above pools of oil strongly. . The FOAB explodes mid-air, combining with atmospheric oxygen to extend the blast radius as it vaporizes targets and collapses structures. Thermobaric munitions can be traced back to World War Two, when they were initially used by the German army. a double whammy of hybrid enhanced blast explosive and high-density reactive material. Denise Chow is a reporter for NBC News Science focused on general science and climate change. 2012", "A New Kind of Bomb Is Being Used in Syria and It's a Humanitarian Nightmare", "U.N. Panel Reports Increasing Brutality by Both Sides in Syria", "Eastern Ghouta home of 'Noor and Alaa' destroyed by Syrian bombs", "Thermobaric Bombs And Other Nightmare Weapons Of The Syrian Civil War", "The latest military situation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict: Ukraine is open, a grenade blows up a Russian infantry fighting vehicle", "Politics in the Next 50 Years: The Changing Nature of International Conflict", "Senate Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Technology, Terrorism, and Government Information hearing on "Foreign Terrorists in America: Five Years After the World Trade Center", "Shock-Dispersed-Fuel Charges-Combustion in Chambers and Tunnels", "Is the world facing Thermobaric Terrorism? The separatists that Russia was supporting in the Donbas region, they have been using them for a number of years now.. [13] Such dust explosions happened most often in flour mills and their storage containers, and later in coal mines, prior to the 20th century. . Russias military has invested relentlessly into thermobaric weapons since the Soviet collapse, and there is no indication that this long-standing trend will change anytime soon. Western states, as well as the Soviet Union and latterly Russia, have used them since the 1960s. The vacuum bomb is . The MOAB was developed by the Alabama-based aeronautics company Dynetics. [106][29] Their use against civilian populations or infrastructure may be banned by the United Nations (UN) Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW),[107] specifically the Protocol on Incendiary Weapons. The UK Ministry of Defence says their use is not illegal . The missiles are filled with a highly explosive fuel and chemical mix, which, on exploding can cause supersonic blast waves . U.K. Ministry of Defence tweeted, "The Russian MoD has confirmed the use of the TOS-1A weapon system in Ukraine. The thermobaric device yields the equivalent of 44 tons of TNT using about seven tons of a new type of high explosive. [25] A Human Rights Watch report of 1 February 2000[26] quotes a study made by the US Defense Intelligence Agency: The [blast] kill mechanism against living targets is uniqueand unpleasant. [63] In the report, it was stated that AGM-114N Hellfire missiles which contained a thermobaric warhead were used by RAF attack drones in Syria. As a non-nuclear weapon, use of the MOAB does not necessarily require approval by the US president. People near the center of a TOS-1 blast radius are crushed to death. In 1998 India tested a "thermonuclear device . The MOAB falls from the aircraft on a pallet, which is then tugged aside by a parachute allowing the weapon to glide down, stabilised and directed by four grid-like fins. The US holds around 5,500 nuclear weapons of its own, and its nuclear policy promises nuclear devastation to opponents. Different fuels can be used, including toxic powdered metals and organic . The fuelair explosive is one of the best-known types of thermobaric weapons.
