Nicknamed, the ‘Mother of All Bombs’, the Moab or GBU-43/B is the world’s largest non-nuclear weapon and was used for the first time ever this month. On April 13 the bomb was dropped on an Islamic State complex in Afghanistan and is said to have left a 300-meter wide crater behind as the result. It was first tested in 2003 and was originally designed to be used as a psychological weapon that would scare the enemy into surrendering.
It has a blast that’s equivalent to 11 tons of TNT and although it was designed in preparation for the Iraq war it was never used during that war. Measuring in at a whopping 30 feet long (9 meters) and 40 inches (1 meter) wide, the monstrous bomb weighs a staggering 21,000lbs (9,500kg), the Moab has a blast radius that stretches a mile in all directions but leaves no lasting radiation damage.
“Mother of All Bombs.” GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast Bomb. Dropped in Afghanistan 4.13.17 . test footage. pic.twitter.com/8OKUIon3P4
— Clever Talks (@CleverTalks) April 13, 2017
Because of the sheer size of the bomb not even the largest of bombing aircraft can carry it so the Moab can only be deployed using a unique system out of the back of a large cargo plane. The way it works is by a parachute pulling the bomb out via a device similar to a pallet that soon separates from the explosive. As the bomb descends it accelerates toward its target before exploding six feet (1.8 meters) above the ground. The sheer power from the weapon’s blast can be felt from miles away.
