PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH Message Board

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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH

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To: American Spirit who wrote (369585)	3/11/2003 12:25:34 PM
From: SecularBull	Read Replies (2) of 769670

Giant bomb to be tested at Florida Air Force base Associated Press EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- A conventional bomb so big that its first name is "massive" is set to be tested for the first time at this Florida Panhandle base today. Air Force officials Monday warned residents of communities surrounding the western half of Eglin's 724-square-mile military reservation to be prepared to hear an explosion that sounds like thunder or a slamming door between noon and 5 p.m. CST although the blast will be miles away. The loudness of the 21,000-pound "massive ordnance air burst," or MOAB, will vary depending on wind currents and some people may not hear it at all, Eglin officials said in a brief news release. They added that the test will be conducted only under weather conditions best for minimizing the sound and inside a buffer zone to keep a shock wave and debris from the explosion inside Eglin's boundaries. The backup date for the test is Thursday during the same time frame. MOAB is similar to but 40 percent heavier than the 15,000-pound BLU-82, billed as the world's most powerful non-nuclear bomb and known to send up a mushroom cloud similar to a nuclear weapon. The BLU-82, nicknamed "daisy cutter," was developed during the Vietnam War to create jungle clearings for use as helicopter landing areas. It was most recently dropped in Afghanistan on caves where al-Qaida leaders were suspected of hiding. In the Persian Gulf War, it was used to clear minefields. MOAB is expected to be ready for use this year if the test is successful.

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