Vacuum bomb is the country's strongest non-nuclear weapon
Prior to this, the United States had the most powerful vacuum bomb in the world. Her tests were completed in the 2003 year, then this super-weapon managed to christen the "mother of all bombs." Russian developers, without hesitation, did not begin to look for other analogies and called their development "the father of all bombs." At the same time, our aviation bomb in all respects significantly exceeds its American counterpart. The mass of explosives in the Russian bomb is less, but at the same time it turned out to be more powerful 4 times. The temperature at the epicenter of its explosion is higher by 2 times, and the total area of the lesion surpasses its American counterpart by almost 20 times.
The effect of a volumetric explosion
The action of the vacuum bomb is based on the effect of a volumetric explosion. We encounter a similar phenomenon almost every day: for example, when we start our car, a micro-explosion of the fuel mixture takes place in the cylinders of an internal combustion engine. In a more sinister form, this is manifested in underground explosions in coal mines in the explosion of coal dust or methane, such incidents have disastrous consequences. A cloud of dust, powdered sugar or small sawdust can even explode. The reason for this is that a combustible substance in the form of a mixture has a very large area of contact with air (oxidizer), which provokes an explosion.
This effect was used by military engineers. Technically, the bomb is quite simple. A blasting charge, most often non-contact, destroys the bomb's body, after which the fuel that forms the aerosol cloud is sprayed into the air. As it forms, this cloud penetrates shelters, trenches and other places inaccessible to traditional types of ammunition, the action of which is based on the defeat of a shock wave and fragments. Further, special warheads are fired from the bomb's case, which ignite the cloud, and already as the aerosol mixture burns, a zone of relative vacuum — low pressure is created, into which air and all surrounding objects are rapidly sucked in. As a result, even without creating a supersonic shock wave arising from the undermining of nuclear warheads, this type of weapon is capable of very effectively striking enemy infantry.
BOV - A volume explosion ammunition is 5-8 more powerful than a conventional explosive by the strength of its shock wave. In the US, combustible mixtures were created on the basis of napalm. After using such bombs, the soil at the blast site began to resemble the lunar soil, but neither radioactive nor chemical contamination of the area occurred. In America, tested and found to be suitable for use as explosives for BOV: ethylene oxide, methane, propyl nitrate, propylene oxide, MAPP (a mixture of acetylene, methyl, propadiene and propane).
Until recently, the same traditional fillers for this type of bombs were used in Russia. However, now the composition of the explosive new Russian vacuum bomb is kept secret, there is information that it was created using nanotechnology. That is why the Russian bomb is several times larger than the American one. If we turn this comparison into numbers, we get the following. The mass of explosive in the USA and Russia BOV 8200 and 7100 kg. respectively, the TNT equivalent of 11 and 44 tons, the radius of guaranteed damage is 140 and 300 meters, in addition, the temperature at the epicenter of the explosion of the Russian vacuum bomb is 2 times higher.
America was the first
The United States was the first to apply BOV during the Vietnam War back in the summer of 1969. Initially, these munitions were used to clear the jungle, the effect of their use exceeded all expectations. The Iroquois helicopter could take on board up to 2-3 such bombs that were directly in the cockpit. The explosion of only one bomb in the jungle created a platform acceptable for landing a helicopter. However, the Americans soon discovered other properties of this type of weapon and began to use it to combat the Vietnamese’s leaking fortifications. The resulting cloud of sprayed fuel, like gas, penetrated into dugouts, underground shelters, inside rooms. With the explosion of this cloud, all the buildings that the aerosol penetrated literally flew into the air.
6 August 1982 during the Lebanese-Israeli war, Israel also tested similar weapons on people. An Israeli Air Force plane dropped a BOV on an 8-storey apartment building, an explosion occurred in the vicinity of the house at the level of 1-2 floors. As a result of the explosion, the building was completely destroyed, about 300 people died, mostly not in the building, but in the vicinity of the explosion site.
In August, 1999, the Russian army applied the CWA during the counter-terrorist operation in Dagestan. The vacuum bomb was dropped on the Dagestan aul Tando, in which a large number of Chechen militants gathered. As a result, several hundred militants were killed, the aul was completely wiped off the face of the earth. In the following days, the militants, noticing in the sky, even the single Russian attack aircraft Su-25 over any settlement, fled in panic. Thus, a vacuum ammunition has not only a powerful destructive, but also a strong psychological effect. The explosion of such a munition is similar to a nuclear one, accompanied by a strong flash, everything burns around, and the ground melts. All this plays a big role in the ongoing military operations.
New BOV format
Aviation the high-power vacuum bomb (AVBPM), which has now been adopted by our army, has repeatedly surpassed all such ammunition available before. The bomb was tested on September 11, 2007. AVBPM was dropped from a strategic bomber Tu-160 by parachute, reached the ground and successfully exploded. After that, a theoretical calculation of the zones of its destruction appeared on the basis of the well-known TNT bomb equivalent:
90 m. From the epicenter - the complete destruction of even the most fortified structures.
170 m. From the epicenter - the complete destruction of unfortified structures and the almost complete destruction of reinforced concrete structures.
300 m. From the epicenter - the almost complete destruction of unfortified structures (residential buildings). Reinforced structures are partially destroyed.
440 m from the epicenter - partial destruction of unfortified structures.
1120 m. From the epicenter - a shock wave breaks the glass.
2290 m. From the epicenter - the shock wave is able to knock a person down.
The West was very wary of the Russian tests and subsequent adoption of this bomb. The British newspaper The Daily Telegraph even dubbed these events "a gesture of belligerent disobedience to the West" and "a new confirmation of the fact that the Russian army is regaining its position primarily in technology. Another British newspaper, The Guardian, made the assumption that this bomb was a response to the US decision to deploy missile defense system elements in Europe.
Deterrent factor
A number of experts believe that AVBPM has quite a few shortcomings, but at the same time it may well act as another deterrent of possible aggression, along with conventional nuclear weapons. Experts say that weaknesses of the BOV are that this type of weapon has only one striking factor - the shock wave. Fragmentary, cumulative action on the target of this type of weapon does not possess, in addition, for a volumetric explosion, the presence of oxygen and free volume is necessary, this means that the bomb will not work in airless space, soil or water. In addition, current weather conditions are of great importance for this type of ammunition. So, in case of heavy rain or strong wind, the fuel-air cloud cannot form or dissipates very quickly, and to fight only in good weather is not very practical.
Despite this, the damaging effects of vacuum bombs are so strong and intimidating for the enemy that this type of ammunition is undoubtedly able to act as a good deterrent, especially when fighting illegal gangs and terrorism.
- http://topwar.ru"rel =" nofollow ">http://topwar.ru
Information