Thermobaric weapon
A thermobaric weapon, aerosol bomb, fuel air explosive, or vacuum bomb[1] is a type of explosive that uses oxygen from the surrounding air to create a high-temperature explosion.
This can be launched as a rocket or dropped from an airplane as a bomb.[2]
Effects
In 2000, Human Rights Watch quoted United States authorities, on how the blast's "kill mechanism against living [things or] targets is unique—and unpleasant. ... What kills is the pressure wave, and more importantly, the subsequent [vacuum or] rarefaction, which ruptures the lungs. ... If the fuel [burns or] deflagrates but does not [... explode], victims will be severely burned and will probably also [... breathe] the burning fuel. [... The] most common FAE fuels [or fuel-air explosion fuels], ethylene oxide and propylene oxide, are highly toxic"; Breathing unexploded FAE adds to the risk of (related) death.[3]
Weapons and warheads
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- TOS-1 (ТОС-1),[4] a multiple rocket launcher (or MRLS)
- TOS-1A, multiple rocket launcher (or MRLS)[5]
Other websites
- Russian Thermobaric Weapons in Ukraine: What They Are and How They Act. 2024-04-15. Kyivpost.com
