2003 test firing of a MOAB

The Air Force has used a MOAB in combat for the first time in history. The Pentagon reports that the bomb was dropped over an area in the Nangarhar province of Afghanistan where ISIS forces are suspected of holding a series of tunnels and buildings.

The Massive Ordinance Air Blast bomb is also known as the “Mother Of All Bombs” is the largest non-nuclear weapon ever designed. It was designed at the outset of the Iraq War, but never deployed because of the possibility of high levels of civilian casualties.

The nature of the bomb makes it ineffective against hardened facilities, but extremely effective against a large area of “softer” targets. The yield of a MOAB is equivalent to over 11 tons of TNT. While an enormous yield for a conventional weapon, it’s almost exactly 1 / 1000th the power of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima.