U.S. sending new bomb to Afghanistan to hit caves
By Jim Wolf
WASHINGTON, Dec 21 (Reuters) - The United States is rushing a new fuel-rich explosive to Afghanistan designed to kill people in caves and tunnels with a higher-energy blast than standard explosives, the Pentagon's chief weapons purchaser said on Friday.
The laser-guided ``thermobaric'' weapon, designated BLU-118B, ``is something we clearly have a need for in Afghanistan and they're on their way over there,'' Under Secretary of Defense Edward Aldridge said at a Pentagon briefing.
The new chemical mix went into production after the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States, said Pentagon spokeswoman Cheryl Irwin. She said it had been successfully tested by the Air Force last Friday against a mock tunnel target at a Nevada test site.
``This culminated a two-month accelerated effort to produce a weapon with improved lethality against underground facilities,'' Irwin said.
Ten of the new weapons, which use the same penetrating warhead as the Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE:LMT - news) BLU-109 bomb, were being readied for shipment to the Afghanistan area, she said.
The explosive, developed by the Naval Surface Weapons Center, may be used in various configurations, including the laser-guided GBU-24 bomb, Irwin said.
It belongs to a class of fuel-rich compositions that release energy over a longer period than standard explosives, ``thereby creating a long-duration pressure pulse when detonated in confined spaces'' such as caves, tunnels and underground bunkers, the Pentagon said.
U.S. troops and allied forces are hunting for Osama bin Laden loyalists who survived bombing of their mountain hide-outs in the 11-week, U.S.-led declared war on terrorism.
Bin Laden is blamed by Washington for masterminding the Sept. 11 hijacking attacks that killed more than 3,200 people at the World Trade Center, Pentagon and in a crashed airliner in Pennsylvania.
The ``thermobaric'' mix has passed all required safety tests to limit potential hazards during transport, sotrage and handling, the Pentagon said.
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