U.S. Big Guns: BLU-82

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With its use of the 6 750-kilogram "daisy cutter" bomb in Afghanistan, the United States has unleashed one of its most powerful weapons - billed as the world's largest conventional bomb.

The BLU-82 combines a watery mixture of ammonium nitrate and aluminium with air, then ignites the mist for a huge explosion that incinerates everything within up to 600 meters.

The shock wave can be felt kilometres away. First created during the Vietnam War to quickly clear jungle landing zones, the daisy cutter also was used against Iraqi troops during the Gulf War. Reports from the ground in Afghanistan indicate the huge bombs have been used against front-line Taliban positions. The bombs cost about $27 000 each.

They are dropped from a C-130 cargo plane flying at least 1 800 meters off the ground, to avoid the bomb's massive shock wave. Each is more than 5 meters long and 1,5 meters in diameter - about the size of a Volkswagen Beetle but far heavier.

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