MOAB

Enormous conventional explosive

MOAB is a U.S. military bomb, the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast—the largest conventional (non-nuclear) bomb in the American arsenal.

The acronym is popularly rendered as "Mother of All Bombs," playing on Saddam Hussein's 1991 promise of "the mother of all battles." The military dropped a MOAB on the cave complex. (Capitalized Moab is a biblical kingdom and modern Utah town.)

bomb

thermobaric

Explosive using ambient oxygen

ordnanceMilitary weapons collectively
munitionsMilitary weapons and ammunition
payloadCarried freight or charge

detonation · shockwave · airburst · air-dropped · high-yield · explosives · warhead · airstrike · precision-guided · carpet-bombing

utah

Canyonlands

Protected Utah desert terrain

desertTo leave behind completely
redrockRust-colored sedimentary stone
slickrockExposed, smooth sandstone formation

sandstone · buttes · mesas · hiking · off-road · canyon · petroglyphs · four-wheeling

destruction

explosion

Violent burst of energy

devastationSevere widespread destruction
obliterationTotal destruction or erasure
annihilationUtter, complete destruction

demolition · crater · flatten · pulverize · incinerate · rubble · debris · wreckage · shatter · decimate

Categories

Munitionsbombs, missiles, bullets, ordnance, warheads
KillstreaksUAV, AC-130, Gunship, EMP, Harrier
SuperweaponsWMD, doomsday device, superweapon, nuclear warhead, ICBM
thermobaric weapons
Heavy Weaponscannon, howitzer, artillery piece, tank gun, field gun

Opposites

explosive yield/destructive power

MOABfirecracker

Small celebratory explosive device

hand grenade · small arms · M-80 · stun grenade · flashbang

nuclear vs. conventional

MOABnuclear bomb

Fission or fusion weapon

hydrogen bomb · thermonuclear weapon · atomic bomb · Little Boy · Tsar Bomba

ancient near eastern rival nations

Middle Eastern nation

Judah · Zion · Jerusalem · Egypt · Assyria

Family

Familiarity: Top 500,000
Profile: Mostly American · Timeless · Concrete · Negative · Rated PG-13