Carbon-Graphite BLU-114 "soft-bomb"

[Greg27]

Anyone has pictures of ground damages rendered by this type of sub-munition?
probably looks a lot like spider-man had a nervous breakdown...

"The BLU-114/B detonates over its target and disperses huge numbers of fine carbon filaments. The filaments are only a few hundredths of an inch thick and can float in the air like a dense cloud. When the carbon fiber filaments dispensed from the BLU-114/B submunition contact transformers and other high voltage equipment, a short circuit occurs and an arc is often created when the current flows through the fiber, which is vaporized.

The graphite, which is a conductor of electric current, is probably coated with other materials to enhance these effects. At the spot where the electric field is strongest, a discharge is initiated, and electrons rapidly form an ionized channel that conducts electricity. At this stage current can flow and an arc forms. This causes instantaneous local melting of a certain amount of the material at the surface of the two conductors. If the current involved is strong enough, these arcs can cause injury or start a fire. Extremely high-energy arcs can cause an explosion that sends fragmented metal flying in all directions."

[MoFo]

Looks Shockingly Interesting p-)

[Greg27]

Looks Shockingly Interesting p-)

used for the first time by f-117 over bosnia in '99 and intensively over iraq apparently, shut down over 85% of iraq's power grid during Shock&Awe phase.

[He219]

I wish the Israeli Air Force had used soft-bombs on the Beirut Power Plant instead ... probably deemed too expensive in short-sight.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v101/He219/dailypix/fresh/freshest/30788769.jpg

Regular swimmers until recently Abdel-Latif Hassan, 69, right, and Mohammed Kamel al-Ruby, 52, sit in front of a layer of crude oil which covers the Ramlet el-Beida public beach in Beirut, Lebanon Friday, July 28, 2006. Much of Lebanon's coastline is now awash with crude oil believed to originate from the Jiyeh power plant, some 20 kilometers (12 miles) south of the Lebanese capital, which has been ablaze since it was targeted by Israeli airstrikes and is said to have leaked about15,000 tons of oil into the Mediterranean sea, according to local environmental organisations. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

[GiladS]

I wish the Israeli Air Force had used soft-bombs on the Beirut Power Plant instead ... probably deemed too expensive in short-sight.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v101/He219/dailypix/fresh/freshest/30788769.jpg

I thought it was an oil depot that got hit...

[He219]

The depot is part of the plant.
It was an oil-powered electrical generating plant.

http://cache.*****images.com/xc/71606853.jpg?v=1&c=MS_GINS&k=2&d=17A4AD9FDB9CF19364A19ADEE617E8A86F2CBFEA904A295EC8CBA0A5B58185B4

This satellite image shows oil leaking into the water (light streaks along coastline) of the area known as Jiyyeh (Jiyyey power station) July 25, 2006 just north of Saida, Lebanon. (Photo DigitalGlobe via ***** Images)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v101/He219/dailypix/fresh/freshest/30789475.jpg

Smoke rises from fuel storage containers at a power plant that was hit a number of of days ago in an Israeli missile strike in Jiyeh, Lebanon, south of Beirut, Friday, July 28, 2006. Much of Lebanon's coastline is now awash with crude oil believed to originate from the Jiyeh power plant, some 20 kilometers (12 miles) south of the Lebanese capital, which has been ablaze since it was targeted by Israeli airstrikes and is said to have leaked 15,000 tons of oil into the Mediterranean sea, according to local environmental organisations. (AP Photo/Kevin Frayer)
http://cache.*****images.com/xc/71536481.jpg?v=1&c=MS_GINS&k=2&d=08A8BA3C818346D01A43ED5054F968AE
http://cache.*****images.com/xc/71580489.jpg?v=1&c=MS_GINS&k=2&d=17A4AD9FDB9CF19390335F8FA9CA92A6F9141141BF0F9FA5810F755E003CBEB8
http://cache.*****images.com/xc/71580495.jpg?v=1&c=MS_GINS&k=2&d=17A4AD9FDB9CF19390335F8FA9CA92A66F764694B511D59F591E7EC1A351FC8B
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v101/He219/dailypix/fresh/freshest/30846181.jpg

Crude oil covers the historic port of Byblos in Jbeil, Lebanon, Sunday, Aug. 6, 2006. Much of Lebanon's coastline is now awash with crude oil believed to originate from the Jiyeh power plant, some 50 kilometers (31 miles) south of Jbeil which has been ablaze since it was targeted by Israeli airstrikes and is said to have leaked around 15,000 tons of oil into the Mediterranean sea, according to local environmental organizations. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)

[Greg27]

and you thought getting your house TPed was a massive headache...

that's no cluster-bomb, that's a real cluster-f**k...

[gregb]

Whats the above pic all about ??

[CruddyLeper]

Compared to a 500lb bomb, that's a cakewalk.

[Greg27]

Whats the above pic all about ??

results of a carbon bomb.
all those spools of graphite fibers fly all over the place and overload the power lines... and the entire neighborhood as well...

[He219]

... thus shorting out the power grid, blowing up transformers and rendering a city without power - all with minimal collateral and physical damage.

The cleanup is relatively easy (tee-pee photo) compared to a major oil slick.

The cost of new transformers and equipment within pre-existing infrastructure is neglegable in comparison.


Sort of like a neutron bomb for transformers.
p-)

[sferrin]

used for the first time by f-117 over bosnia in '99 and intensively over iraq apparently, shut down over 85% of iraq's power grid during Shock&Awe phase.

IIRC the first use of them was during Desert Storm. The Iraqis would get their power stations cleaned up and then the wind would blow more of the stuff right back on it. They actually made another one that was even more potent but any equipment hit by it was pretty much junk. And they couldn't figure out a way to clean it up. Imagine a bomb full of submunitions full of toner from a laser printer sort-of. Carbon dust. Any electrical device the stuff came in contact with was pretty much fubared.

[Greg27]

... thus shorting out the power grid, blowing up transformers and rendering a city without power - all with minimal collateral and physical damage.

The cleanup is relatively easy (tee-pee photo) compared to a major oil slick.

The cost of new transformers and equipment within pre-existing infrastructure is neglegable in comparison.


Sort of like a neutron bomb for transformers.
p-)

or a very localized EMP.

totally agreed. if the technology exists why not using it? are those extremely expensive for the attacker vs. conventional dumb bombs?

[Henry's Fork]

I wish the Israeli Air Force had used soft-bombs on the Beirut Power Plant instead ... probably deemed too expensive in short-sight.

Agreed, that broke my heart just as much as the dead kids. Some of the more uglier parts of war, i guess.

If they are that expensive, i doubt that the IDF has huge stores of them. I could see why they would save them for bigger targets like Syria or Iran.

[quellish]

IIRC the first use of them was during Desert Storm. The Iraqis would get their power stations cleaned up and then the wind would blow more of the stuff right back on it. They actually made another one that was even more potent but any equipment hit by it was pretty much junk. And they couldn't figure out a way to clean it up. Imagine a bomb full of submunitions full of toner from a laser printer sort-of. Carbon dust. Any electrical device the stuff came in contact with was pretty much fubared.

The history of this type of weapon is fascinating. Back around the Vietnam era, there were aircraft like A-3 variants that pretty much just dumped chaff into the sky to protect bombers (if I recall correctly). Several times the chaff was used near civillian areas in exercises and hit power lines - and shorted them out.

Fast forward to the late 1980s. SOMEONE decided to try to turn this into a nonlethal weapon, from what I have heard it was tested from a drone on the Nellis range initially. By the time of DESERT STORM, there were several Tomahawks in the Navy inventory that could deploy carbon fiber spools to knock out a power station - and they were used against 2 power stations located very close to civillian areas. From what I understand the Tomahawks were 2nd generation versions of this type of weapon.