Back to the main page

Mailing List Logs for ShadowRN

Message no. 1
From: Joerg-Olaf "JOM" Melcher jom@*******.de
Subject: AW: Fuel - Air Bombs ( Referenze Links )
Date: Thu, 15 Apr 1999 14:51:21 +0100
http://www.hiline.net/~nova/compendium/bombs.htm = cyberpunk stats

http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/dumb/cbu-72.htm = description

http://www.nawcwpns.navy.mil/~bronkhor/clmf/faeseq.html animated sequence

http://www.webcom.com/~amraam/munit.html = estimated cost per piece during
gulf war: $ 3800

CBU-72 Fuel Air Explosive
This cluster munition is highly effective against minefields, armored
vehicles, aircraft parked in the open, and bunkers. The weapon is made up of
three separate submunitions dispensing an aerosol fuel cloud across the
target area. As the fuel cloud descends to the ground it is ignited by an
embedded detonator to produce an impressive explosion. The rapidly expanding
wave front due to overpressure flattens all objects within close proximity
of the epicenter of the aerosol fuel cloud, and produces debilitating damage
well beyond the flattened area.

* Fuel air explosives (FAEs) were also used in the Gulf War, both to clear
minefields and for psychological effect. The weapons used were the similar
CBU-55 and CBU-72 FAEs, which both contain three 45 kilogram (100 pound)
BLU-73/B submunitions containing ethylene oxide.

After dispersal, the three submunitions create a cloud about 20 meters in
diameter and two or three meters high that is then detonated. The results
are spectacular, with pilots calling them "mini nuclear explosions".

The US Air Force originally evaluated the FAE concept in Vietnam using an
odd-looking weapon named the BLU-76/B. This 1.18 tonne (2,600 pound) weapon
looked like a big can with a cone on the front and stubby fins in back. It
has an equivalent explosive yield of about 9 tonnes (10 US tons) of TNT.


Thermobare: Fuel Air Explosive

La munition thermobare RPO-A est du type Fuel Air Explosive et fonctionne
selon le même principe que les bombes CBU-72 FAE, engagées avec force
dégâts
par les Forces armées américaines durant la guerre du Golfe. L'obus contient
une "mixture thermobare" qui, durant sa transformation/détonation,
embrase
tout l'oxygène de la zone d'impact; ce qui a pour conséquence, non seulement
d'élever instantanément la température à plus de 800 °C,
mais également de
d'exercer une puissance destructrice supérieure à celle d'un explosif
classique.

La surpression entraînée par le RPO-A oscille entre 0,4 et 0,8 kgf/cm2, en
terrain découvert, à 5 m du point d'impact; dans un local, elle est dix fois
plus élevée. Que ce soit en terme de surpression ou d'effet destructeur,
selon le fabricant, cette munition est équivalente à des obus d'artillerie
explosifs à fragmentation (HEF) de 152 mm.

La munition incendiaire RPO-Z met à feu tous les matériaux combustibles
(bois, tissus, plastiques, etc.), dans un local d'environ 100 m3, pour une
durée de 5 à 7 secondes; à l'air libre, le RPO-Z allume plus de vingt
foyers
primaires sur une surface de 300 m2. Enfin, la munition nébulogène RPO-D
déploie un écran de fumée long de 55 à 90 m pendant 80
à 120 secondes,
équivalent à un obus fumigène d'artillerie.

Best

Regards

JOM

> -----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
> Von: shadowrn-admin@*********.org
> [mailto:shadowrn-admin@*********.org]Im Auftrag von Bruce
> Gesendet am: Mittwoch, 14. April 1999 13:31
> An: Shadowrun Discussion
> Betreff: Fuel - Air Bombs
>
> How the heck do Fuel-Air bombs work exactly? Are they cheap to build?
> Any ideas on damage and area of effect?
>
> I presume it would depend greatly on the type of fuel used.
>
> Any tips would be appreciated...
>
> -- BRUCE <gyro@********.co.za>
>
> <hard@****>
>
> Theres nothing like a netfight
> Everything is True
> Nothing is Forbidden
>
>
>

Further Reading

If you enjoyed reading about Fuel - Air Bombs ( Referenze Links ), you may also be interested in:

Disclaimer

These messages were posted a long time ago on a mailing list far, far away. The copyright to their contents probably lies with the original authors of the individual messages, but since they were published in an electronic forum that anyone could subscribe to, and the logs were available to subscribers and most likely non-subscribers as well, it's felt that re-publishing them here is a kind of public service.