Jump to content

Thermobaric weapon

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Ulysse de Saint-Sauveur (talk | contribs) at 17:09, 5 March 2022 (For air-to-surface missile AGM-114 Hellfire : the correct denomination for thermobaric's one is " AGM-114M Hellfire II ", and not " AGM-114N Hellfire II ". "N" --> "M".). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Blast from a US Navy fuel–air explosive used against a decommissioned ship, USS McNulty, 1972

A thermobaric weapon, aerosol bomb, fuel air explosive (FAE)[1] is a type of explosive that uses oxygen from the surrounding air to generate a high-temperature explosion. The fuel–air explosive is one of the best-known types of thermobaric weapons.

While most conventional explosives consist of a fuel–oxidizer premix such as black powder which contains 25% fuel and 75% oxidizer, or a decomposition-type explosive such as RDX, thermobaric weapons are almost 100% fuel and as a result are significantly more energetic than conventional condensed explosives of equal weight.[2] Despite the fact their reliance on atmospheric oxygen makes them unsuitable for use under water, at high altitude, and in adverse weather, they are, however, considerably more destructive when used against field fortifications such as foxholes, tunnels, bunkers, and caves.[citation needed]

The initial explosive charge detonates as it hits its target, opening the container and dispersing the fuel mixture as a cloud.[3] The typical blast wave of a thermobaric weapon lasts significantly longer than that of a conventional condensed explosive.

Many types of thermobaric weapons can be fitted to hand-held launchers,[4] and can also be launched from airplanes.

Terminology

The term thermobaric is derived from the Greek words for 'heat' and 'pressure': thermobarikos (θερμοβαρικός), from thermos (θερμός) 'hot' + baros (βάρος) 'weight, pressure' + suffix -ikos (-ικός) '-ic'.

Other terms used for the family of weapons are high-impulse thermobaric weapons, heat and pressure weapons, vacuum bombs, and fuel-air explosives.

Mechanism

In contrast to a condensed explosive, which 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.[5]

Thermobaric explosives apply the principles underlying accidental unconfined vapor cloud explosions, which include those from dispersions of flammable dusts and droplets.[6] Such dust explosions happened most often in flour mills and their storage containers, and later in coal mines, prior to the 20th century. Accidental unconfined vapor cloud explosions now happen most often in partially or fully empty oil tankers, refinery tanks, and vessels, such as the Buncefield fire in the United Kingdom in 2005, where the blast wave woke people 150 kilometres (93 mi) from its center.[7]

A typical weapon consists of a container packed with a fuel substance, the center of which has a small conventional-explosive "scatter charge". Fuels are chosen on the basis of the exothermicity of their oxidation, ranging from powdered metals, such as aluminum or magnesium, to organic materials, possibly with a self-contained partial oxidant. The most recent development involves the use of nanofuels.[8][9]

A thermobaric bomb's effective yield depends on a combination of a number of factors like 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 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.[10] Conventional upper and lower limits of flammability apply to such weapons. Close in, blast from the dispersal charge, compressing and heating the surrounding atmosphere, has some influence on the lower limit. The upper limit has been demonstrated to influence the ignition of fogs above pools of oil strongly.[11] That weakness may be eliminated by designs in which the fuel is preheated well above its ignition temperature so that its cooling during its dispersion still results in a minimal ignition delay on mixing. The continual combustion of the outer layer of fuel molecules, as they come into contact with the air, generates additional heat which maintains the temperature of the interior of the fireball, and thus sustains the detonation.[12]

In confinement, a series of reflective shock waves is generated,[13][14] which maintain the fireball and can extend its duration to between 10 and 50 ms as exothermic recombination reactions occur.[15] Further damage can result as the gases cool and pressure drops sharply, leading to a partial vacuum. This rarefaction effect has given rise to the misnomer "vacuum bomb". Piston-type afterburning[clarification needed] is also believed to occur in such structures, as flame-fronts accelerate through it.[16]

Fuel–air explosive

A fuel–air explosive (FAE) device consists of a container of fuel and two separate explosive charges. After the munition is dropped or fired, the first explosive charge bursts open the container at a predetermined height and disperses the fuel (and possibly ionizes it, depending on whether a fused quartz dispersal charge container was employed) in a cloud that mixes with atmospheric oxygen (the size of the cloud varies with the size of the munition). The cloud of fuel flows around objects and into structures. The second charge then detonates the cloud and creates a massive blast wave. The blast wave can destroy reinforced buildings, equipment and kill or injure people. The antipersonnel effect of the blast wave is more severe in foxholes and tunnels and in enclosed spaces, such as bunkers and caves.

Effects

A Human Rights Watch report of 1 February 2000[17] quotes a study made by the US Defense Intelligence Agency:

The [blast] kill mechanism against living targets is unique—and unpleasant. ... What kills is the pressure wave, and more importantly, the subsequent rarefaction [vacuum], which ruptures the lungs. ... If the fuel deflagrates but does not detonate, victims will be severely burned and will probably also inhale the burning fuel. Since the most common FAE fuels, ethylene oxide and propylene oxide, are highly toxic, undetonated FAE should prove as lethal to personnel caught within the cloud as with most chemical agents.

According to a US Central Intelligence Agency study,[17] "the effect of an FAE explosion within confined spaces is immense. Those near the ignition point are obliterated. Those at the fringe are likely to suffer many internal, thus invisible injuries, including burst eardrums and crushed inner ear organs, severe concussions, ruptured lungs and internal organs, and possibly blindness." 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".[18]

Development

German developments

The first attempts occurred during the Second World War by the German Luftwaffe and Wehrmacht, the inventor being the Austrian physicist Mario Zippermayr.[19]

Soviet and Russian developments

A Russian RPO-A Shmel (Bumblebee) rocket and launcher

FAEs were first developed by the United States for use in the Vietnam War.[20] In response, Soviet scientists quickly developed their own FAE weapons. FAEs were reportedly used against China in the Sino-Soviet border conflict and against the Mujahideen in Afghanistan. Since then, research and development has continued, and Russian forces now field a wide array of third-generation FAE warheads,[21] such as the RPO-A, and Russia used them in Chechnya.[22] 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 10 m (33 ft), which can be launched from an RPG-7. The GM-94 is a 43 mm (1.7 in) pump-action grenade launcher designed mainly to fire thermobaric grenades for close-quarters combat. The grenade weighed 250 g (8.8 oz) 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 ft) is considered safe.[23]

The RPO-A and upgraded RPO-M are infantry-portable RPGs, designed to fire thermobaric rockets. The RPO-M, for instance, has a thermobaric warhead with a TNT equivalence of 5.5 kg (12 lb) and destructive capabilities similar to a 152 mm (6 in) high-explosive fragmentation artillery shell.[24][25] The RShG-1 and the RShG-2 are thermobaric variants of the RPG-27 and RPG-26 respectively. The RShG-1 is the more powerful variant, with its warhead having a 10-metre (33 ft) lethality radius and producing about the same effect as 6 kg (13 lb) of TNT.[26] The RMG is a further derivative of the RPG-26 that uses a tandem-charge warhead, with the precursor HEAT warhead blasting an opening for the main thermobaric charge to enter and detonate inside.[27] The RMG's precursor HEAT warhead can penetrate 300 mm of reinforced concrete or over 100 mm of rolled homogeneous armour, thus allowing the 105 mm (4.1 in)-diameter thermobaric warhead to detonate inside.[28]

Other examples include the SACLOS or millimeter-wave radar-guided thermobaric variants of the 9M123 Khrizantema, the 9M133F-1 thermobaric warhead variant of the 9M133 Kornet, and the 9M131F thermobaric warhead variant of the 9K115-2 Metis-M, all of which are anti-tank missiles. The Kornet has since been upgraded to the Kornet-EM, and its thermobaric variant has a maximum range of 10 km (6 mi) and has a TNT equivalence of 7 kg (15 lb).[29] The 300 mm (12 in) 9M55S thermobaric cluster warhead rocket was built to be fired from the BM-30 Smerch MLRS. A dedicated carrier of thermobaric weapons is the purpose-built TOS-1, a 24-tube MLRS designed to fire 220 mm (8.7 in) thermobaric rockets. A full salvo from the TOS-1 will cover a rectangle 200 by 400 m (220 by 440 yd).[30] The Iskander-M theatre ballistic missile can also carry a 700 kg (1,540 lb) thermobaric warhead.[31]

Many Russian Air Force munitions also have thermobaric variants. The 80 mm (3.1 in) S-8 rocket has the S-8DM and S-8DF thermobaric variants. The S-8's 122 mm (4.8 in) brother, the S-13, has the S-13D and S-13DF thermobaric variants. The S-13DF's warhead weighs only 32 kg (71 lb), but its power is equivalent to 40 kg (88 lb) of TNT. The KAB-500-OD variant of the KAB-500KR has a 250 kg (550 lb) thermobaric warhead. The ODAB-500PM and ODAB-500PMV[32] unguided bombs carry a 190 kg (420 lb) fuel–air explosive each. The KAB-1500S GLONASS/GPS guided 1,500 kg (3,300 lb) bomb also has a thermobaric variant. Its fireball will cover a 150 m (490 ft) radius and its lethal zone is a 500 m (1,600 ft) radius.[33] The 9M120 Ataka-V and the 9K114 Shturm ATGMs both have thermobaric variants.

In September 2007, Russia exploded the largest thermobaric weapon ever made. Its yield was reportedly greater than the smallest dial-a-yield nuclear weapons at their lowest settings.[34][35] 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.[36] The Russian bomb contains a charge of approximately 7 tons of a liquid fuel, such as pressurized ethylene oxide, mixed with energy-rich nanoparticles, such as aluminium, surrounding a high explosive burster that when detonated created an explosion equivalent to 39.9 tons of TNT.[37]

American developments

A BLU-72/B bomb on a USAF A-1E taking off from Nakhon Phanom in Thailand, in September 1968

FAEs were first developed by the United States for use in the Vietnam War.[20] Current American FAE munitions include the following:

  • BLU-73 FAE I
  • BLU-95 500 lb (230 kg) (FAE-II)
  • BLU-96 2,000 lb (910 kg) (FAE-II)
  • CBU-55 FAE I
  • CBU-72 FAE I

The XM1060 40-mm grenade is a small-arms thermobaric device, which was delivered to US forces in April 2003.[38] Since the 2003 Invasion of Iraq, the US Marine Corps has introduced a thermobaric "Novel Explosive" (SMAW-NE) round for the Mk 153 SMAW rocket launcher. One team of Marines reported that they had destroyed a large one-story masonry type building with one round from 100 yards (91 m).[39] The AGM-114M Hellfire II, first used by US forces in 2003 in Iraq, uses a Metal Augmented Charge (MAC) warhead, which contains a thermobaric explosive fill that uses aluminium powder coated or is mixed with PTFE layered between the charge casing and a PBXN-112 explosive mixture. When the PBXN-112 detonates, the aluminium mixture is dispersed and rapidly burns. The result is a sustained high pressure that is extremely effective against people and structures.[40]

Spanish BEAC thermobaric bomb project

In 1983, a program of military research was launched with collaboration between the Spanish Ministry of Defence (Directorate General of Armament and Material, DGAM), Explosives Alaveses (EXPAL) and Explosives Rio Tinto (ERT) with the goal of developing a Spanish version of a thermobaric bomb, the BEAC (Bomba Explosiva de Aire-Combustible). A prototype was tested successfully in a foreign location out of safety and confidentiality concerns.[41] The Spanish Air Force has an undetermined number of BEACs in its inventory.[42]

Indian development

Based on the high-explosive squash head (HESH) round, a 120 mm thermobaric round was developed, which packed thermobaric explosives into the tank shells to increase the effectiveness against enemy bunkers and light armoured vehicles.[43]

The design and the development of the round was taken up by Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE). The rounds were designed for the Arjun MBT. The TB rounds contains fuel rich explosive composition called thermobaric explosive. As the name implies, the shells, when they hit a target, produce blast overpressure and heat energy for hundreds of milliseconds. The blast overpressure and heat energy causes collateral damage to enemy fortified structures like bunkers and buildings and for soft targets like enemy personnel and light armoured vehicles.[44][45]

History

Military use

US Navy BLU-118B being prepared for shipping for use in Afghanistan, 5 March 2002

FAEs such as the CBU-55 were first developed by the United States for use in the Vietnam War, some of which were further developed to be used during Operation Desert Storm.

The TOS-1 system was test fired in Panjshir Valley during the Soviet-Afghan War in the late 1980s.[46] MiG-27 attack aircraft of the 134th APIB also used ODAB-500S/P fuel-air bombs against Mujahideen forces in Afghanistan, but they were found to be unreliable and dangerous to ground crew.[47]

Unconfirmed reports suggest that Russian military forces used ground-delivered thermobaric weapons in the storming of the Russian parliament during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis and during the Battle for Grozny (first and second Chechen Wars) to attack dug-in Chechen fighters. The use of TOS-1 heavy MLRS and "RPO-A Shmel" shoulder-fired rocket system during the Chechen Wars is reported to have occurred.[48]

It is thought that a multitude of handheld thermobaric weapons were used by the Russian Armed Forces in their efforts to retake the school during the 2004 Beslan school hostage crisis. 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.[49][50][51] At least three and as many as nine RPO-A casings were later found at the positions of the Spetsnaz.[52][53] The Russian government later admitted to the use of the RPO-A during the crisis.[54]

According to the British Ministry of Defence, the British military also used thermobaric weapons in its AGM-114N Hellfire missiles (carried by Apache helicopters and UAVs) against the Taliban in the War in Afghanistan.[55]

The US military also used thermobaric weapons in Afghanistan. On 3 March 2002, a single 2,000 lb (910 kg) 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.[56][57] The SMAW-NE was used by the US Marines during the First Battle of Fallujah and the Second Battle of Fallujah.

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[58] and in Kafar Batna.[59] 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.[60]

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.[61][62][63]

During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, CNN reported that Russian forces were moving thermobaric weapons into Ukraine.[64][65] On February 28, 2022, Ukraine's ambassador to the United States accused Russia of deploying a thermobaric bomb.[66][67]

Terrorist use

Thermobaric and fuel–air explosives have been used in guerrilla warfare since the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing in Lebanon, which used a gas-enhanced explosive mechanism that was probably propane, butane, or acetylene.[68] 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.[69][70] Jemaah Islamiyah bombers used a shock-dispersed solid fuel charge,[71] based on the thermobaric principle,[72] to attack the Sari nightclub during the 2002 Bali bombings.[73]

International law

International law does not specifically prohibit the use of thermobaric munitions, fuel-air explosive devices, or vacuum bombs against military targets.[74][75] Their use against civilian populations may be banned by the United Nations (UN) Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW), [76] however they are not explicity listed.[77] In addition, as the United States has thermobaric weapons in its military inventory, it is unlikely that they will be explicitly listed, or that there will be a treaty banning their use.[77]

See also

References

  1. ^ Harrison, Virginia (1 March 2022). "What are thermobaric weapons and how do they work?". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 1 March 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  2. ^ Parsons, Jeff (2 March 2022). "What is a thermobaric weapon? Putin accused of using devastating 'vacuum bomb' in Ukraine". Metro.
  3. ^ "Ukraine conflict: What is a vacuum or thermobaric bomb?". BBc News. 2 March 2022. p. 1. Archived from the original on 1 March 2022. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  4. ^ Algeria Isp (18 October 2011). "Libye – l'Otan utilise une bombe FAE | Politique, Algérie". Algeria ISP. Archived from the original on 20 June 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  5. ^ Nettleton, J. Occ. Accidents, 1, 149 (1976).
  6. ^ Strehlow, 14th. Symp. (Int.) Comb. 1189, Comb. Inst. (1973).
  7. ^ Health and Safety Environmental Agency, 5th and final report, 2008.
  8. ^ See Nanofuel/Oxidizers For Energetic Compositions – John D. Sullivan and Charles N. Kingery (1994) High explosive disseminator for a high explosive air bomb[dead link‍]
  9. ^ Slavica Terzić, Mirjana Dakić Kolundžija, Milovan Azdejković and Gorgi Minov (2004) Compatibility Of Thermobaric Mixtures Based On Isopropyl Nitrate And Metal Powders Archived 2012-03-02 at the Wayback Machine.
  10. ^ Meyer, Rudolf; Josef Köhler; Axel Homburg (2007). Explosives. Weinheim: Wiley-VCH. pp. 312. ISBN 978-3-527-31656-4. OCLC 165404124.
  11. ^ Nettleton, arch. combust. 1,131, (1981).
  12. ^ Stephen B. Murray Fundamental and Applied Studies of Fuel-Air Detonation Archived 2010-01-19 at the Wayback Machine.
  13. ^ Nettleton, Comb. and Flame, 24,65 (1975).
  14. ^ Fire Prev. Sci. and Tech. No. 19,4 (1976)
  15. ^ May L.Chan (2001) Advanced Thermobaric Explosive Compositions.
  16. ^ New Thermobaric Materials and Weapon Concepts Archived 2014-05-18 at the Wayback Machine.
  17. ^ a b "Backgrounder on Russian Fuel Air Explosives ("Vacuum Bombs") | Human Rights Watch". Hrw.org. 1 February 2000. Archived from the original on 10 February 2013. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  18. ^ Defense Intelligence Agency, "Future Threat to the Soldier System, Volume I; Dismounted Soldier – Middle East Threat", September 1993, p. 73.
  19. ^ Karlsch, Rainer. "Massenvernichtungswaffe: Großvaters Vakuumbombe". Faz.net. Archived from the original on 11 August 2020. Retrieved 3 June 2020 – via www.faz.net.
  20. ^ a b Andrew, D (1 May 2003). "MUNITIONS – Thermobaric Munitions and their Medical Effects!". Australian Military Medicine: 9–12. Archived from the original on 27 February 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  21. ^ "Backgrounder on Russian Fuel Air Explosives ('Vacuum Bombs')". Human Rights Watch. 27 December 2008. Archived from the original on 15 January 2009. Retrieved 30 July 2009.
  22. ^ Lester W. Grau and Timothy L. Thomas (2000) "Russian Lessons Learned From the Battles For Grozny" Archived 2010-04-30 at the Wayback Machine
  23. ^ "Modern Firearms – GM-94". Russia: World Guns. 24 January 2011. Archived from the original on 7 November 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2011.
  24. ^ "New RPO Shmel-M Infantry Rocket Flamethrower Man-Packable Thermobaric Weapon". defensereview.com. 19 July 2006. Archived from the original on 27 October 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2012.
  25. ^ "Shmel-M: Infantry Rocket-assisted Flamethrower of Enhanced Range and Lethality". Kbptula.ru. Archived from the original on 29 December 2013. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  26. ^ "Modern Firearms – RShG-1". Russia: World Guns. 24 January 2011. Archived from the original on 31 October 2012. Retrieved 12 July 2011.
  27. ^ "Modern Firearms – RMG". Russia: World Guns. 24 January 2011. Archived from the original on 17 August 2011. Retrieved 12 July 2011.
  28. ^ "RMG – A new Multi-Purpose Assault Weapon from Bazalt". defense-update.com. 9 November 2008. Archived from the original on 13 July 2012. Retrieved 27 August 2012.
  29. ^ "Kornet-EM: Multi-purpose Long-range Missile System". Russia: Kbptula. Archived from the original on 29 December 2013. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  30. ^ "TOS-1 Heavy flamethrower system". military-today.com. Archived from the original on 10 October 2012. Retrieved 27 August 2012.
  31. ^ "SS-26". Missilethreat.csis.org. Archived from the original on 5 January 2017. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  32. ^ "ODAB-500PMV Fuel-Air-Explosive bomb". Rosoboronexport. Archived from the original on 29 August 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  33. ^ Air Power Australia (4 July 2007). "How to Destroy the Australian Defence Force". Ausairpower.net. Archived from the original on 11 June 2011. Retrieved 12 July 2011.
  34. ^ "Russia unveils devastating vacuum bomb". ABC News. 2007. Archived from the original on 30 December 2010. Retrieved 12 September 2007.
  35. ^ "Video of test explosion". BBC News. 2007. Archived from the original on 2 February 2009. Retrieved 12 September 2007.
  36. ^ Harding, Luke (12 September 2007). "Russia unveils the father of all bombs". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 16 October 2019. Retrieved 12 September 2007.
  37. ^ Berhie, Saba. "Dropping the Big One | Popular Science". Popsci.com. Archived from the original on 13 November 2007. Retrieved 12 July 2011.
  38. ^ Pike, John (22 April 2003). "XM1060 40mm Thermobaric Grenade". Globalsecurity.org. Archived from the original on 25 April 2017. Retrieved 12 July 2011.
  39. ^ David Hambling (2005) "Marines Quiet About Brutal New Weapon" Archived 2015-02-08 at the Wayback Machine
  40. ^ John Pike (11 September 2001). "AGM-114N Metal Augmented Charge (MAC) Thermobaric Hellfire". Globalsecurity.org. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 12 July 2011.
  41. ^ "ABC (Madrid) – 22/10/1990, p. 23 – ABC.es Hemeroteca". hemeroteca.abc.es. Archived from the original on 19 August 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  42. ^ Elespiadigital. "¿Dispone España de armas estratégicas?". www.elespiadigital.com. Archived from the original on 27 July 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  43. ^ "120 mm Thermobaric (TB) Ammunition For MBT Arjun | Defence Research and Development Organisation – DRDO, Ministry of Defence, Government of India". www.drdo.gov.in. Archived from the original on 26 May 2021. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  44. ^ Armament Research & Development Establishment (ARDE) 120 mm Penetration Cum Blast (PCB) and Thermobaric (TB) Ammunition for Arjun MBT https://www.drdo.gov.in/120-mm-penetration-cum-blast-pcb-and-thermobaric-tb-ammunition-mbt-arjun Archived 2021-05-26 at the Wayback Machine
  45. ^ "Fire-power of DRDO's Arjun Tank takes quantum jump with new ammunition: MoD". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 5 August 2018. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
  46. ^ Swearingen, Jake (14 September 2015). "This Russian Tank-Mounted Rocket Launcher Can Incinerate 8 City Blocks". Popularmechanics.com. Archived from the original on 27 February 2018. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
  47. ^ Gordon, E. (2019). Mikoyan MiG-23 and MiG-27. Dmitriĭ Komissarov. Manchester. p. 369. ISBN 978-1-910809-31-0. OCLC 1108690733. Archived from the original on 2 March 2022. Retrieved 24 October 2021.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  48. ^ "Foreign Military Studies Office Publications – A 'Crushing' Victory: Fuel-Air Explosives and Grozny 2000". Fmso.leavenworth.army.mil. Archived from the original on 8 May 2013. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  49. ^ "Russian forces faulted in Beslan school tragedy". Christian Science Monitor. 1 September 2006. Archived from the original on 6 September 2006. Retrieved 14 February 2007.
  50. ^ Russia: Independent Beslan Investigation Sparks Controversy Archived 2006-08-29 at the Wayback Machine, The Jamestown Foundation, August 29, 2006
  51. ^ Beslan still a raw nerve for Russia Archived 2012-05-19 at WebCite, BBC News, 1 September 2006
  52. ^ ACHING TO KNOW Archived 2011-06-24 at the Wayback Machine, Los Angeles Times, August 27, 2005
  53. ^ Searching for Traces of “Shmel” in Beslan School Archived 2009-01-03 at the Wayback Machine, Kommersant, September 12, 2005
  54. ^ A Reversal Over Beslan Only Fuels Speculation Archived 2011-09-03 at the Wayback Machine, The Moscow Times, July 21, 2005
  55. ^ "MoD's Controversial Thermobaric Weapons Use in Afghanistan". Armedforces-int.com. 23 June 2008. Archived from the original on 6 April 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  56. ^ "US Uses Bunker-Busting 'Thermobaric' Bomb for First Time". Commondreams.org. 3 March 2002. Archived from the original on 12 January 2010. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  57. ^ Pike, John. "BLU-118/B Thermobaric Weapon Demonstration / Hard Target Defeat Program". Globalsecurity.org. Archived from the original on 27 July 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  58. ^ "Syria rebels say Assad using 'mass-killing weapons' in Aleppo". Ynetnews. 10 October 2012. Archived from the original on 12 July 2013. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
  59. ^ "Dropping Thermobaric Bombs on Residential Areas in Syria_ Nov. 5. 2012". First Post. 11 November 2012. Archived from the original on 10 February 2013. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
  60. ^ Cumming-Bruce, Nick (4 June 2013). "U.N. Panel Reports Increasing Brutality by Both Sides in Syria". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 15 April 2017. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  61. ^ "Eastern Ghouta home of 'Noor and Alaa' destroyed by Syrian bombs". Middle East Eye. Archived from the original on 11 June 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  62. ^ "A New Kind of Bomb Is Being Used in Syria and It's a Humanitarian Nightmare". www.vice.com. Archived from the original on 11 June 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  63. ^ "Thermobaric Bombs And Other Nightmare Weapons Of The Syrian Civil War". 18 March 2019. Archived from the original on 11 June 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  64. ^ Zitser, Joshua. "Russian army deploys its TOS-1 heavy flamethrower capable of vaporizing human bodies near Ukrainian border, footage shows | Business Insider Africa | Ghostarchive". ghostarchive.org. Business Insider Africa. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
  65. ^ "What are thermobaric weapons?". ABC News. 27 February 2022. Archived from the original on 27 February 2022. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
  66. ^ "Oil depot burns after artillery shelling in Okhtyrka, Sumy Oblast". Twitter. Kyiv Independent. 28 February 2022. Archived from the original on 2 March 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2022. Mayor Pavlo Kuzmenko reported that Russian occupiers dropped a vacuum bomb.
  67. ^ Zengerle, Patricia (1 March 2022). "Ukraine envoy to U.S. says Russia used a vacuum bomb in its invasion". Reuters. Archived from the original on 1 March 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  68. ^ Richard J. Grunawalt. Hospital Ships In The War On Terror: Sanctuaries or Targets? Archived 2013-04-01 at the Wayback Machine (PDF), Naval War College Review, Winter 2005, pp. 110–11.
  69. ^ Paul Rogers (2000) "Politics in the Next 50 Years: The Changing Nature of International Conflict" Archived 2019-10-19 at the Wayback Machine
  70. ^ J. Gilmore Childers; Henry J. DePippo (24 February 1998). "Senate Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Technology, Terrorism, and Government Information hearing on "Foreign Terrorists in America: Five Years After the World Trade Center"". Fas. Archived from the original on 16 November 2020. Retrieved 12 July 2011.
  71. ^ P. Neuwald; H. Reichenbach; A. L. Kuhl (2003). "Shock-Dispersed-Fuel Charges-Combustion in Chambers and Tunnels" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 February 2017. Retrieved 19 July 2008.
  72. ^ David Eshel (2006). "Is the world facing Thermobaric Terrorism?". Archived from the original on 7 June 2011.
  73. ^ Wayne Turnbull (2003). "Bali:Preparations". Archived from the original on 11 March 2008. Retrieved 19 July 2008.
  74. ^ "Ukraine's ambassador to US says Russia used a vacuum bomb, international groups say banned cluster munitions used to strike shelter". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 1 March 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  75. ^ Hanson, Marianne. "What are thermobaric weapons? And why should they be banned?". The Conversation. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  76. ^ Dunlap, Charlie (27 February 2022). "The Ukraine crisis and the international law of armed conflict (LOAC): some Q & A". Lawfire. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  77. ^ a b "Fact Sheet: Russia's Use of Thermobaric Weapons in Ukraine". Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation. 1 March 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Thermobaric_weapon&oldid=1075415695"