A new report from Human Rights Watch makes it clear the Russian invasion of Ukraine is illegal. As a non-nuclear weapon, use of the MOAB does not necessarily require approval by the US president. A fuelair explosive (FAE) device consists of a container of fuel and two separate explosive charges. More recently, international organizations haveallegedthat TOS-1Ms, presumably supplied by the Kremlin, were being operated by Russian-backed separatists in the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine. 2023 BBC. The first-stage charge distributes an aerosol made up of very fine material from a carbon-based fuel to tiny metal particles. #StandWithUkraine . 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. A significant part of the effect of weapons like the MOAB is said to be psychological - to instil terror by the massive force of the blast. The bomb is designed to damage underground facilities and tunnels. People near the center of a TOS-1 blast radius are crushed to death. [81][82][83] At least three and as many as nine RPO-A casings were later found at the positions of the Spetsnaz. [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. It's called the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast, nicknamed the Mother of All Bombs, and it is the largest non-nuclear bomb currently in the U.S. Air Force's arsenal. [67][68], The company BALKAN NOVOTEH Ltd, formed in 2011, provides the Thermobaric hand grenade TG-1 to the market. The vacuum bomb is . [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. [46] The 300mm (12in) 9M55S thermobaric cluster warhead rocket was built to be fired from the BM-30 Smerch MLRS. The thermobaric weapon, also known as an aerosol bomb or fuel air explosive, is a two-stage munition. The explosive charge disperses a large cloud of fuel which then ignites in contact with the oxygen in the surrounding air. In some designs, strong munitions cases allow the blast pressure to be contained long enough for the fuel to be heated well above its autoignition temperature so that once the container bursts, the superheated fuel autoignites progressively as it comes into contact with atmospheric oxygen. The lethal radius is around fifty meters making it one . This can be launched as a rocket or dropped as a bomb from aircraft. The bomb's thin aluminium casing was designed specifically to maximise the blast radius. A MOAB test detonation in Florida in 2003, The MOAB is prepared for testing at the Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, The 21,600lb (9,800kg) bomb has never been used in combat before, 'Bunker Buster' even bigger than MOAB. [89][90], During the War in Afghanistan, British forces, including the Army Air Corps and Royal Air Force, used thermobaric AGM-114N Hellfire missiles against the Taliban. [84][85] In July 2005 the Russian government admitted to the use of the RPO-A during the crisis. University of Queensland provides funding as a member of The Conversation AU. Read about our approach to external linking. In addition to the impacts on civilians, thermobaric bombs would cause superfluous injury and unnecessary suffering. The MOAB was developed by the Alabama-based aeronautics company Dynetics. 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. 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. The MoD stated that 20 missiles, described as "blast fragmentation warheads", were used in 2008 and a further 20 in 2009. [95] A United Nations panel of human rights investigators reported that the Syrian government had used thermobaric bombs against the rebellious town of Al-Qusayr in March 2013. [92], Reports by the rebel fighters of the Free Syrian Army claim the Syrian Air Force used such weapons against residential area targets occupied by the rebel fighters, such as during the Battle of Aleppo[93] and in Kafar Batna. According to a US Central Intelligence Agency study,[26] "the effect of an FAE explosion within confined spaces is immense. An additional charge can have . [60][dubious discuss]. The goal of the programme was to develop a thermobaric bomb, the BEAC (Bomba Explosiva de Aire-Combustible). [97][95][98], In March 2023 soldiers from the 59th Motorized Brigade of Ukraine showed off the destruction by a thermobaric RGT-27S2 hand grenade delivered by Mavic 3 drone of a derelict Russian infantry fighting vehicle. [44] The RMG's precursor HEAT warhead can penetrate 300mm of reinforced concrete or over 100mm of rolled homogeneous armour, thus allowing the 105mm (4.1in)-diameter thermobaric warhead to detonate inside. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. When the PBXN-112 detonates, the aluminum mixture is dispersed and rapidly burns. The US also used them in Afghanistan. Its just a horrible, devastating weapon, said David Johnson, a retired U.S. Army colonel and a principal researcher at the Rand Corporation. File Image: TOS-1 - Wikipedia. Strehlow, 14th. Fire Prev. Huge air-launched versions have also been designed, specifically to kill defenders in caves and tunnel complexes - the effects of this weapon are at their most severe in enclosed spaces. 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. The antipersonnel effect of the blast wave is more severe in foxholes and tunnels and in enclosed spaces, such as bunkers and caves. [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. The blast wave can destroy reinforced buildings, equipment, and kill or injure people. Putin accused of using devastating 'vacuum bomb' in Ukraine", "Libye l'Otan utilise une bombe FAE | Politique, Algrie", "Thermobaric and enhanced blast explosives (TBX and EBX)", A 'Crushing' Victory: Fuel-Air Explosives and Grozny 2000, "Ukraine conflict: What is a vacuum or thermobaric bomb? Under international humanitarian law, they should not be used. 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 . The TOS-1A uses thermobaric rockets, creating incendiary and blast effects. Thermobaric bombs or vacuum bombs are controversial because they are much more devastating than conventional explosives of similar size. 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. (modern), Ukraine's ambassador to US accuses Russia of using a vacuum bomb video. Russia has around 6,000 nuclear weapons and an escalation of conflict could result in their use either deliberately or inadvertently during the fog of war. [58], China is reported to have other thermobaric weapons, including bombs, grenades and rockets. If a weapon is likely to prolong the agony of soldiers (or civilians) or result in superfluous and unacceptable injuries, theoretically its use is not permitted. The Vaccum Bomb can cause damage within a radius of 300 meters. Watch 2003 footage of the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast Bomb (MOAB) being tested. [13] Such dust explosions happened most often in flour mills and their storage containers, and later in coal mines, prior to the 20th century. The RShG-1 is the more powerful variant, with its warhead having a 10-metre (33ft) lethality radius and producing about the same effect as 6kg (13lb) of TNT. A thermobaric bomb (also called a vacuum or aerosol bomb - or fuel air explosive) consists of a fuel container with two separate explosive charges. [55], Israel was alleged to possess the technology as early as 1990. Ukraine's ambassador to the US, Oksana Markarova, has also accused Russia of using them in its invasion. The blast wave generated by these explosives is . 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). [55], In 1983, a program of military research was launched with collaboration between the Spanish Ministry of Defence (Directorate General of Armament and Material, DGAM) and Explosivos Alaveses (EXPAL) which was a subsidiary of Unin Explosivos Ro Tinto (ERT). In the 1980s, the Soviet Union developed TOS-1A MLRS capable of firing thermobaric warheads to attack fortified positions and destroy armored vehicles. Many Russian Air Force munitions also have thermobaric variants. Trocano (toknu) is a thermobaric weapon similar in design to the United States' MOAB weapon or Russia's FOAB. You can imagine if this is contained inside an enclosed space nothing would survive inside that space, Johnson said. 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. [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. ", "What is a thermobaric weapon? [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. According to reports . [51][52] Russia named this particular ordnance the "Father of All Bombs" in response to the American-developed Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB) bomb, which has the backronym "Mother of All Bombs" and once held the title of the most powerful non-nuclear weapon in history. Even the British and French resort to nuclear pressure, and former US president Donald Trump, when threatening North Korea, used similar language. The GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast is the largest conventional bomb . These types of thermobaric weapons have been in development since the 1970s. Thermobaric weapons spread fine carbon metal particles into the air before igniting them. [28] A second charge ignites that cloud, creating a fireball, a huge shock wave, and a vacuum as it sucks up all surrounding oxygen. [50] The 9M120 Ataka-V and the 9K114 Shturm ATGMs both have thermobaric variants. A thermobaric weapon might be targeted specifically at military installations and personnel, but its effects cannot be contained to one area. [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]. The cloud of fuel flows around objects and into structures. 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. The FOAB is a kind of fuel-air bomb, technically known as a thermobaric weapon. How big is a MOAB blast radius? shown thermobaric rocket launchers on Russias TOS-1 vehicles. Sebastian Roblin, a military expert, writing for . The BLU-82B/C-130 weapon system, known under program " Commando Vault " and nicknamed "Daisy Cutter" in Vietnam for its ability to flatten a section of forest into a helicopter landing zone, is an American 15,000-pound (6,800 kg) conventional bomb, delivered from either a C-130 or MC-130 transport aircraft or a CH . And why should they be banned? They were not widely developed until the 1960s, when the US used them in Vietnam. It is believed the weapon - often called a vacuum bomb - was used in the Chernihiv region, 80 miles north of Kyiv. File photo: Handout The United States just 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. FOAB is also known as the 'Monster Bomb'. Different fuels can be used, including toxic powdered metals and organic .