"Blackout Bomb": China Announces Creation of "New" Weapon to Disable Electric Power Infrastructure

Chinese television showed animated footage of a new development by the local military-industrial complex. The footage is accompanied by statements that China has developed ammunition that is capable of disabling power plants, disrupting the operation of power lines, causing large-scale disruptions in electricity supplies.

It is reported that such ammunition can be released from specialized cells located in the body of the car. After firing, the ammunition "opens" over the target, first releasing submunitions (thin cylinders), from which in turn thousands of carbon threads are dispersed, which leads to a short circuit in the networks.

According to the latest data, the range of such ammunition is up to 300 km. The ammunition weighs about 500 kg. At the same time, one such projectile is capable of disabling equipment on an area of ​​1 hectare or more, depending on the density of the power lines and other energy infrastructure.

This projectile, which the press has dubbed a “blackout bomb,” was created by specialists from the China Aerospace Technology and Research Corporation.

In fact, it is hardly worth talking about some completely new development. For several decades, there have been various versions of graphite bombs in the world, including the American BLU-114/B. The Americans first used a graphite bomb during the war against Iraq (the Persian Gulf War) in 1990. The US Air Force used similar bombs during its bombing of Yugoslavia, which caused a real energy collapse in a number of cities in the country.

The only “innovation,” so to speak, from China in this case can be considered the fact that the bomb can be used from a ground carrier – a regular military truck.

Comments

[Huarabey]

Aaaa... So that's the reason for the recent events in Spain and Portugal))

[knn54]

The Graphite bomb, a Soviet development, perfected in China.
If used, backup substations will not save you.
They can also drop them from drones, which, in turn, will be transported in cars.

[Silver99]

Well, it's probably not a panacea, a short circuit in the power grid is "treated" by protection against a voltage surge from this very short circuit, and again the grids are duplicated. Maybe it's more reliable to simply physically destroy the enemy's power grid.

[Alexey Sommer]

How do you protect a running generator from a short circuit?

[Silver99]

There we are not talking about an iron running on a garden plot from a gasoline generator.

[Alexey Sommer]

How does a power plant generator differ from a gasoline generator? If graphite dust gets into it, the winding will burn out.

[Silver99]

You are again confused in the readings, what does the generator have to do with it? Perhaps you are talking about transformers, they are located in open space, and generators are protected by the walls and roof of the building where they are installed.

[Alexey Sommer]

There is ventilation, that's one, but this is the most fatal option and two, you are absolutely right, transformers are also vulnerable. In them, short circuits actually occur when graphite dust gets on the insulators. And no protection helped the Yugoslavs, as you know.

[topol717]

What prevents this graphite dust from burning???
40 years ago I dealt with the railway workers. In the spring, during the freezing rain, they cleaned their wires with bamboo poles and several teams. At the same time, the power engineers simply heated their wires, either caused short circuits or did something else. But meter-long icicles fell from the power transmission line wires themselves.

[Alexey Sommer]

Quote from: topol717

What prevents this graphite dust from burning???

Nothing, but a moment before that a short circuit occurs.

[Architect]

Graphite dust does not short-circuit anything.
Both the Chinese and the Americans use graphite threads in their ammunition.
Don't confuse people with your fantasies

[Alexey Sommer]

Quote: Architect

Don't confuse people with your fantasies

Yugoslavia is a fantasy, isn't it?

Quote: Architect

Both the Chinese and the Americans use graphite threads in their ammunition.

Thanks for the correction, but it doesn't change the essence.

[topol717]

Quote: Architect

Both the Chinese and the Americans use graphite threads in their ammunition.

An aluminum cable is 5 cm thick. And how can a graphite thread a couple of millimeters thick disable it? It will simply burn out. Because the current density in it will be several times higher than in the cable. In electricity and not only, it breaks where it is thin.

[atakan]

We won't have anything like that.
50-70% of the network in cities is of various types of self-supporting insulated wires.

[Jafar]

The calculation is that the "air insulation" between the wires ceases to be insulation and an electric arc occurs. Then everything depends on the line protection systems

[rocket757]

Short circuit and what next? Relay protection is triggered...
Although, just different high-voltage switches located outside the premises can be blocked by another... but again, if they are of the open type!
However, there are still quite a few of them at old substations.
In general, the impact is localized, everything depends on the coverage area.

[Alexey Sommer]

Quote: rocket757

but again, if they are open type!

Most powerful substations are of the open type.

[rocket757]

And the supply ventilation at industrial facilities has filters! Not everywhere, of course, but at closed energy facilities this is the case...

[Alexey Sommer]

Quote: rocket757

And supply ventilation at industrial facilities has filters!

I installed supply ventilation at energy facilities as a general contractor. I didn't see any filters. Can you imagine? True, that was in 1995.

[rocket757]

Can you imagine, just the day before yesterday they were delivering a fire extinguisher to the substation and oops, supply ventilation with filters...
Although, "in defense", our enterprise is really "shady", the electricity supply is category 1.
And so, it is different everywhere and the majority of powerful substations are of the open type... although in closed ones, high-voltage lines are introduced through insulators that are outside.
In general, "graphics" is a real threat, but not a disaster if the automatic protection works as it should.
As an example, we had something similar... the city was "bored" for three days without electricity... but the industrial enterprises in the industrial zone worked just fine, because the thermal power plant was not damaged in any way by the "silver paint".

[alexoff]

The Yugoslavs restored the power supply within 24 hours. The emergency protection shut everything down, the threads were removed and restarted. This is mostly a show-off about non-lethal weapons, a cluster bomb of similar mass would physically destroy the same electrical equipment and it would take much longer to repair.

[rocket757]

Have you ever disassembled a grinder or any hand-held power tool AT LEAST ONCE???
There is this graphite dust from the brushes, in layers, for MANY YEARS!!!
There are still quite a few nuances, but... covering high-voltage insulators at substations, and even just overhead power lines, with graphite dust is already a problem for power engineers.
We've been there, we know... it wasn't graphite dust, but silver salts, but we had to wash the insulators for more than one day!

[topol717]

Quote: rocket757

Covering high-voltage insulators at substations, and even just overhead power lines, with graphite dust is already a problem for power engineers.

The insulators on which the wires hang are not made as a multi-level umbrella for no reason. Ordinary dust settles on them and then all this is covered by heavy rains, but the power transmission line continues to work. Well, a layer of graphite a couple of hundredths of a millimeter will simply burn out on any power transmission line.

[rocket757]

Can you imagine, but the "silver" didn't burn out! Multiple breakdowns, in different places, knocked out the protective automation...
He specifically pointed out that this is NOT a DISASTER, but temporary difficulties...
The whole world washed the insulators: firefighters, military personnel, and power engineers, of course.
The case is unique, of course, but then again, all sorts of things have happened at energy facilities...

[topol717]

[quote=rocket757] Multiple breakdowns, in different places, knocked out the protective automation...[/quoюte]Yes, but in combat conditions, if it is necessary to "clean" the power line, then the protection is moved back a little and all the "garbage" then burns out. This is not used in normal operation because the insulators will still need to be washed later, but in emergency cases, it is quite acceptable. And then they will work with dirty insulators, until better times.

[rocket757]

Breakdowns on power lines are such a complicated matter!!!
The insulator garlands are shattered into pieces, and the current-carrying wires themselves are burning off!!!
I had such a "joy" to observe and then eliminate the consequences...
And this is in our country, where there is a DRY CLIMATE, and there, where MOISTURE adds to this process... in general, everything has a breaking point!!!

[Alexey Sommer]

Quote: rocket757

There is this graphite dust from the brushes, in layers, for MANY YEARS!!!

Already corrected above, I agree with this. In a graphite bomb there is not dust, there are graphite threads.

[Spiidii]

A fuse, a circuit breaker. And electricians will throw in a couple hundred more options.

[K-50]

In the PRC, munitions have been developed that are capable of disabling power plants and disrupting the operation of power lines, causing large-scale disruptions in electricity supplies.

The Pindos practiced their use in Yugoslavia.
Almost thirty years have passed.

[Arzoo]

We used a directed EMP in Ukraine. Well, it was so-so, nothing special. The US also tried to test it in the navy, to protect against drones. It was also somehow ineffective, if we consider that it was not adopted into service. The only ultra-destructive EMP is a thermonuclear bomb in a vacuum (in outer space). Yes, it is a formidable weapon there, it will burn up all the satellites.

[topol717]

Quote: Arzoo

We used targeted EMP in Ukraine.

Who are we? In what place, what power and what frequency was this impulse and what result was expected?

[Alexey Sommer]

The only mystery is why Ukraine still has electricity.

[Michael]

If you want to minimize the damage, but still turn off the electricity, then these graphite bombs are very good. And to be sure, you don't need to short-circuit the wiring, but destroy the substations.

[Winnie76]

Quote: Michael

then these graphite bombs are very good

These threads will burn out, and that's it. They are thin, as I understand it. Well, maybe the protection will work. People will sit without electricity until they take it down.

[bbb]

Maybe this was invented 100 years ago, but why don’t we use it in Ukraine?

[Volunteer Marek]

We were told about similar developments at school back in the early 80s.

[Broad flag]

The NTD, or rather the application-map of the distribution of icy phenomena across the country, interferes. Where level 1-2, equipment for melting ice on the networks is not installed, respectively, there is nothing to load and heat the current leads with. I do not know how carbon dust differs from saline dust, but if there is no electrostatic adhesion of slate dust, then it will fly off/burn itself with a successful APV. Theorizing about the combustion of generators from the fact that dust gets in, I reassure you - the cooling system of generators is closed. Water or hydrogen. By the way, the RPA works all this, especially if it is ancient, without these fashionable network modems for each individual switch. device.

Quote from: topol717

What prevents this graphite dust from burning???
40 years ago I dealt with the railway workers. In the spring, during the freezing rain, they cleaned their wires with bamboo poles and several teams. At the same time, the power engineers simply heated their wires, either caused short circuits or did something else. But meter-long icicles fell from the power transmission line wires themselves.

[Andrey Andreev_2]

You can debate as much as you like: graphite dust, threads, short circuits... But even the Chinese are unlikely to refuse to test the operation of this system in combat conditions)) Only we need to give them this opportunity before the khokhlofascists offer it...

[Serafim]

The best way to de-energize the power grid is to abolish Ohm's Law. How come the Europri*urs didn't think of this... maybe because Georg Ohm is not a Russian?