ODAB-500PM - volumetric detonating aerial bomb

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:43

ODAB-500 is a series of Soviet/Russian-made aerosol bombs. The name of the series is an abbreviation of the phrase "volumetric detonating bomb". The numbers in the designation indicate the rounded weight of the ammunition. According to some reports, the series contains bombs weighing 500, 1000, 1100 and 1500 kg.

Volume explosion mechanism

This type of aerial bombs uses a phenomenon in which a gas cloud explodes, formed during the instantaneous sublimation of the original liquid explosive (HE). Explosions of dust clouds, known since the second half of the 19th century, occur according to a similar mechanism. At that time, repeated volumetric explosions of combustible dust clouds were recorded at flour-grinding and textile industries, coal dust in mines, etc. Somewhat later, already in the 20th century, explosions of steam clouds occurred over oil products in the holds of tankers and inside refinery tanks and tank farms.

Most conventional explosives are a mixture of fuel and oxidizer (gunpowder, for example, contains 25% fuel and 75% oxidizer), while the vapor cloud isalmost 100% fuel, using oxygen from the surrounding air to generate an intense, high-temperature explosion. In practice, the blast wave resulting from the use of volumetric detonating ammunition has a significantly longer duration of exposure than from a conventional condensed explosive. Therefore, volume explosion bombs are significantly more powerful (in TNT equivalent) than conventional ammunition of equal mass.

But dependence on atmospheric oxygen makes them unsuitable for use underwater, at high altitude and in adverse weather conditions. They do, however, cause much more damage when used inside enclosed spaces such as tunnels, caves, and bunkers, in part due to the duration of the blast wave, in part by consuming the oxygen available inside. In terms of power and destructive power, these air bombs are second only to tactical nuclear weapons.

Development history

Explosive detonating bombs were developed by the Germans during World War II, but they did not have time to use them before its completion. Other countries in the post-war period also experimented with these weapons (in Western terminology, they are called thermobaric, and the erroneous term "vacuum bombs" has taken root in the domestic media). It was first used in Vietnam by the United States, which, however, denied this fact. The first American thermobaric bomb with an explosive effect comparable to the detonation of nine tons of TNT, weighed 1180 kg and was designated BLU-76B.

Soviet scientists and designers quickly developed their own weapons of this type, which were first used in the border conflict with China in 1969 and in Afghanistan against the mountain shelters of Islamist militants. Since then, research and development has continued.

ODAB-500 was developed by GNPP "Bas alt" in Moscow in the 1980s. It was introduced to the public in the early 1990s. In 1995, a modified version of the ODAB-500PM was shown at an exhibition in Paris. In 2002, the international arms exhibition Russian Expo Arms was held. It presented and offered for sale a modified ODAB-500PMV bomb. These munitions are sold through Aviaexport and Rosoboronexport.

The Russian Aerospace Forces currently have a wide range of thermobaric weapons, which were used in the 90s in the war in Chechnya, and are also actively used during the operation against the ISIS terrorist organization in Syria. Relatively inexpensive and easy to maintain, these weapons have been in the arsenals of many countries for decades.

The original version of the aerial bomb

It was designated ODAB-500P and had a mechanical proximity fuse. The algorithm of its operation includes the ejection of a cable harness with a leader contact device at the end from the nose of a flying bomb. Braking of the leader by the ground surface (or ground barrier) leads to the operation of the contacts of the inertial contactor included in the electrical circuit, underminingthe body of an air bomb and the release into the air of 145 kg of liquid explosive. After a short time delay, sufficient for the formation of a gas cloud, the initiating charge installed in the tail section is detonated, and a volumetric explosion begins.

Modified bombs

The serial version of ODAB-500PM with a radio altimeter can be dropped from an aircraft from a height of 200 to 12,000 meters and at a speed of 50-1500 km/h. At an altitude of 30 to 50 m, a braking parachute is thrown to stabilize the bomb body and slow its fall. At the same time, a radio altimeter is launched, which measures the instantaneous height of the ammunition above the ground. At a height of 7 to 9 m, the body of the bomb is blown up, and 193 kg of liquid explosive of an unknown formulation are sprayed into the air, after which a gas cloud is formed. With a delay of 100 to 140 milliseconds, this cloud detonates due to the detonation of an additional charge. During the explosion, a very high temperature and a pressure of 20 to more than 30 bar are created for a short time. The force of the explosion is approximately equivalent to 1000 kg of TNT. The effective range against field fortifications is 25 m. For cars and aircraft, as well as for live targets, the bomb's range is 30 m.

The ODAB-500PMV version is optimized for use from helicopters at a bombing altitude of 1100-4000 m at a speed of 50-300 km/h, although it can also be dropped from aircraft, i.e. it is all- altitude.

Design

The ODAB-500 bomb (and its modifications) has a cylindrical elongated body shape with a round cross section and a lancet tip. On theits rear part has four flat stabilizers, around which an annular wing is located. In front of the bomb is the electromechanism of the combat platoon. In the central part there is a cylindrical container with a liquid explosive and a dispersive charge. At the rear of the bomb there is a container for a drag parachute and an initiating secondary charge. The length of the ammunition is 2.28-2.6 m, and the weight is from 520 to 525 kg, depending on the version. The hull diameter is 500 mm, and the wingspan-stabilizers are also about 500 mm.

Father of all bombs

In September 2007, footage of the testing of a new Russian super-powerful volume explosion bomb, which immediately received the nickname given in the title of this section, spread around the world. Describing its destructive power, Deputy Chief of the Russian General Staff Alexander Rukshin said: “Everything that is alive simply evaporates.”

This munition, codenamed ODAB-9000 by the media (the actual name is still unknown), is reportedly four times more powerful than the American GBU-43/B thermobaric bomb, often referred to in the media as the "mother of all bombs". This Russian munition has become the most powerful conventional (non-nuclear) weapon in the world.

The capacity of ODAB-9000 is equivalent to 44 tons of TNT when using about seven tons of a new type of explosive. For comparison: an American bomb is equivalent to 11 tons of TNT with 8 tons of liquid explosives.

The power of the explosion and the shock wave of the Russian bomb, although they have a much smaller scale, are still comparable to a tacticalnuclear weapons of minimum power (exactly comparable, but not equal!). Unlike nuclear weapons known for their radioactive fallout, the use of a volumetric explosion weapon does not damage or contaminate the environment outside the blast radius.

The Russian bomb is smaller than the GBU-43/B, but much more dangerous because the temperature at the center of its explosion is twice as high, and the explosion radius of the Russian ammunition is 300 meters, which is also twice as large.