Thermobaric weapons under fire again

But it’s the new Novel Explosive (NE) rockets which are causing all the fuss. The Novel Explosive is a thermobaric charge so destructive it can be used to demolish buildings - which makes it very handy for quelling the resistance in a building full of people shooting at you.

The term "thermobaric" is derived from the effects of temperature (the Greek word "therme" means "heat") and pressure (the Greek word "baros" means "pressure") on the target. Thermobarics first disperse a flammable mist of underoxidised fuel which ignites to create a gigantic explosion of immense destructiveness. The explosion of the SMAW-NE is effective in three main ways. Firstly, it is accompanied by a massive fireball which incinerates all in its path. Secondly, it creates a massive pressure wave capable of rupturing the internal organs of all those nearby and so powerful that it can reduce load-bearing walls to rubble and bring down buildings. Finally, the explosion also sucks all the oxygen out of the air, asphyxiating anyone in the immediate vicinity . Basically, if you’re in the building when it hits, it’ll kill you.

source


Wow that would be a powerful weapon I think it will be good in Iraq. The only concern I could see is if civilians were in the area, but most of the time, we clear them out when were engaging in rooting out insurgents in a certain town.

Question.

Is this weapon a form of "Air Fuel bomb"?

Originally posted by Humster
Is this weapon a form of "Air Fuel bomb"?

It is a new class of solid fuel-air explosive thermobarics.
Here is more: Thermobaric weapon





seekerof

[edit on 22-11-2005 by Seekerof]

Already covered here :

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Im sure i read somewhere about the Russians using Thermobaric weapons in Chechyna a few years ago also in an urban environment.See what i can dig up....

This link details a Thermobaric launcher based on a T-72 chassis -

www.globalsecurity.org...

[edit on 23-11-2005 by bmdefiant]

I think the story originaled with this one

www.defensetech.org...

a couple of weeks ago.

There are two debates: firstly, should we go around demolishing buildings when there may be civilians in them (remember New Orleans, when people were supposed to have evacuated and did not) and secondly should this have been sneaked in without telling anyone, given how controversial thermobarics are?

I guess it depends,as stated in one of the replies to the article sounds a better idea than to blast the area with an artillery strike in an attempt to solve the situation.
Then again if im under fire from a building would i hesitate to use something thats going to deal with the problem and maybe save lifes and casualties ? Tough call..

...which is exactly the problem. People on the ground are likely to blow stuff up if they think it might help save their skins, and won't be too fussed about the "collateral damage."

I think collateral damage is always a danger when combat takes places and civilians are involved.But yes i agree with you that the level of damage in the case of thermobaric weapon use takes it to a new level when you can demolish an entire building with one shot....

^^^^ It was only a single room building, so it isn't some hugely powerful weapon.

Shoulder-fired thermobarics will demolish a normal two-storey house, or collapse several floors of a larger building. I don't think there are many other hand-held weapons that will 'disintegrate' a large masonry building.