Just what could you do with 377 tons of boom?

[41mag]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6323933/

Be interesting to see where this snafu ends up.

[krept]

The letter informed the IAEA that since Sept. 4, 2003, looting at the Al-Qaqaa installation south of Baghdad had resulted in the loss of 214.67 tons of HMX, 155.68 tons of RDX and 6.39 tons of PETN explosives.

HMX and RDX can be used to demolish buildings, down jetliners, produce warheads for missiles and detonate nuclear weapons. HMX and RDX are key ingredients in plastic explosives, such as C-4 and Semtex — substances so powerful that Libyan terrorists needed just 1 pound to blow up Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988, killing 170 people.



Well, sounds like you can do just about anything... terrorism, suicide bombs, ect.

Wonder how long of a shelf life the stuff has... if it's long, even with a full transition to power there will be the looming threat for years.

I don't think I'd want to know how many tons of explosives like TNT have gone missing from mining sites out here in AZ.

cheers

[84 C4]

substances so powerful that Libyan terrorists needed just 1 pound to blow up Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988, killing 170 people.

It doesn't take much to make a big hole in an airliner, and 1lb is a pretty respectable amount of explosive, if used correctly.

[John in AR]

Two things about this:

1: The IAEA, afaik, is a UN arm.
2: While in the truck today, I caught about thirty minutes of Limbaugh, and he was (supposedly) quoting from our military's inventory reports that this facility was empty on Apr-10-03, one day after Baghdad fell. His claim was that while it was "full" on the UN inspectors' reports before the inspectors got kicked out by Hussein, but that it was empty when we got there. Unless he was blatantly lying about the U.S. army report he was claiming to be reading, this would be the case.

While I don't believe everything Limbaugh says, I believe almost nothing the UN (the IAEA, in this case) says.

[gripper]

Dittos...BTW you can do a news search gone back a few years,to '02,&'03. AFAIR,the 101st(along with embedded reporters)were on that scene in th einvasion-no explosives...Guess who had responsibility for oversight in theat area-Mohammed al Barraday(or however you spell it) and the UN IAEA....gee,I guess they are admitting both to the presence of WMDs(or precursores)and THEIR lack of oversight/surveillance/doing their FU*&ING job...

[andy]

RDX IS an explosive, clowns, it's the second fastest burning, after PETN, and it produced MORE volume of gas per volume of explosive than does PETN. It's also very stable, which is why it'sused to make handgrenades.

[Aslan]

We know what RDX is, so why the insults? Why bother stating the obvious?

It takes a little effort to turn the powder form (which is supposedly how it was stored) into a viable explosive.

Volume is important, but cubic volume produced per millisecond is probably more important.

You need to have the right initiators etc.

This is why arty munitions are the IED of choice - less effort for the results.

But, I'm not an expert - this is more Garand's area.

:devil:

[Garand]

Gunkid is a little shy on explosives knowledge, PETN has far less Brisance than RDX. But PETN is far more stable for long term storage. RDX is the primary ingredient of C4 plastic Explosive and PETN is used in DM12 German Plastic explosives. During WW2 and Korea, frag grenades were filled with "EC Powder". Since the early '60's the primary ingredient of frag grenades in North America is Composition B,it is an excellent bursting charge. Composition B is a mixture of RDX with TNT, usually 60/40%. I've never seen HMX used as an ingredient of Plastic Explosives, but these days everybody has a different mixture.

Bulk RDX and HMX must be kept wetted to ensure stability in storage and transportation. Believe me, when RDX is dried it is EXCEPTIONALLY sensitive to handle and no body in their right mind wants to transport it. Just try to find a company willing to transport "1.1A" explosives. We have a policy about dynamite. We don't buy it if it is more than 2 years from date of manufacture as it can start to exude NG.

[RIKA]

During WW2 and Korea, frag grenades were filled with "EC Powder".

I remember reading about something called "EC Blankfire". It was a powder loaded in the movie blanks that Hollywood used. Is this the same stuff?

RIKA

[Garand]

If I remember correctly, EC Powder was used in .30-06 Blanks.

[Aries]

I would like to blast out a pond on my land. Of course I am sure the crater will probably cover the entire ten acres. I guess beggars cant be choosers though.

[andy]

the heat tabs that they used to (do?) sell only needed treating with nitric acid and mixing with vasoline to become a compound so close to RDX as to be indistinquishable (or so I'm told). :-)

[Garand]

Gunkid, don't bet your life on your explosives knowledge. You'd lose!!

As for the 377 tons of boom! Well my best day so far this year was 8 tons downrange. It was a real good day! :) :) :)

[Coyote]

the heat tabs that they used to (do?) sell only needed treating with nitric acid and mixing with vasoline to become a compound so close to RDX as to be indistinquishable (or so I'm told). :-)
:roflmao1:
MELVINS BEEN READING THE ANARCHISTS COOKBOOK!

Thats the funniest thing I've heard all week. He probably thinks he's a terrorist now.

[Garand]

Reading that book is a good way of getting yourself killed.

[RIKA]

Awesome photos Garand. Looks like hell itself being unleashed. What are the angled squiggly lines? Shock waves?

RIKA

[Garand]

Yes they are, the beauty of high speed photography

[krept]

off the top of my dense brain, I'd say they're either

a) white phosphorous?

b) related to the detonation cord (if that exists)

c) some kind of electrical arc?

weird, I've seem them before but have no idea what mechanism is behind them

Garand, you've gotta have one of the coolest jobs, for sure.

[Garand]

They are shock waves.

[andy]

not a chance I'd believe a word IN that book, like YOU would, dumbass. I took one look at their bs designs for silencers, and knew all I needed to know about that pos.

[Hasher]

be queit andy the adults are talking.

BTW where were you on tuesday COWARD??????????????????????????????????????

[Garand]

No gunkid, I'm not stupid enough to read a book on explosives that you would recommend.

[andy]

1 lb each under the cars of the right 764000 men sounds good.

[Garand]

I have my doubts that you would even know how to initiate explosives safely, much less kill anyone but yourself.

[neolithic hunter]

I have my doubts that you would even know how to initiate explosives safely, much less kill anyone but yourself.


andy has a black cat and he's not afraid to use it.