US To Test MOAB, *Mother of All Bombs* On Hurricanes In an effort to combat the devastating effects of category 5 hurricanes, New Tech Spy has learned from well connected DoD sources, that the US Department of Homeland Security has teamed with the US Air Force, in a secret mission called “Operation Dark Sky”. Dark Sky’s purpose is to test the effectiveness of the newly developed MOAB fuel air explosive on the destructive eye wall of selected hurricanes, in an effort to disrupt the central core’s development and diminish its intensity. The program will begin this summer, primarily in the Gulf of Mexico, and extend through the 2006 hurricane season.
---The GBU-43/B (MOAB), “Mother of all bombs” was developed in the run-up to the Iraq war, but was never used in battle. The 21,000 pound fuel air bomb works by first dispersing an aerosol cloud of tritonal, which is then set off by a secondary explosion. The force of the explosion creates a massive pressure wave unlike that of any other conventional bomb, and makes it an ideal platform for US scientists to test on the different types of atmospheric conditions created in a hurricane.
---The initial program calls for five GBU-43’s to be dropped in 30 minute intervals on the leading eye wall of the hurricane. Specially modified C-130 aircraft will deliver the satellite-guided bombs in altitudes ranging from 8,000 to 30,000 feet, the effect will be measured by hurricane hunter planes and weather satellites. The secret operation will not be disclosed to the American people unless it is a complete success, but that might not be known for months or perhaps even years of study, which will certainly add to the intrigue and speculation surrounding “Dark Sky”, America’s big little secret.
2.27.06