Mission : Called the "
daisy cutter," the BLU-82 high-blast bomb is used to create corridors through minefields and is deployed against ground forces. It was originally designed to clear helicopter landing zones in
Vietnam.
Weight : 15,000 pounds
Length : 11 feet, 10 inches
Diameter : 4 feet, 6 inches
Explosive : 12,600 pounds of aluminum powder
How it's deployed : Pushed out the rear cargo door of
MC-130H Combat Talon aircraft
Minimum height for release : 6,000 ft above ground level
First used : 1970 to clear jungle landing zones in Vietnam
Unit Cost : $27,318 (2001)
Source : Federation of American Scientists
The BLU-82 Commando Vault, commonly referred to as the
daisy cutter, is the largest conventional bomb in the
USAF's arsenal. Originally developed for clearing jungle
landing zones during the Vietnam Conflict, able to clear a 260 foot radius area. The
LZ creation mission was discontinued in 1975 when some Marines took issue with a 15,000 lb. bomb (approximately six times the size of the
truck bomb used by
Timothy McVeigh in the
Oklahoma City bombing) being set off in their vicinity.
The bomb was put back into action 1991, when 11 were used in the opening phases of the
Desert Storm ground war, and more recently in
Afghanistan as part of
Operation Enduring Freedom. Not only used for its massive destructive power against lightly fortified positions but also its ability to clear
minefields and the tremendous pyschological impact of the massive explosion and accompanying
mushroom cloud.
Along with its size, the method of deployment sets the BLU-82 apart from most other conventional bombs. It is loaded onto a pallet and dropped from a MC-130E, which is a modified version of the
C-130 Hercules cargo plane, its descent slowed by a parachute attached to the end of the bomb.