The American Air Force just dropped a massive Bomb in Eastern Afghanistan. Known as the mother of all bombs (MOAB). It is the most powerful conventional bomb ever used. There is, however, a piece of disconcerting news that Russia has a more powerful bomb. The Americans called their bomb as the "mother of all bombs." The Russians refer to their bomb as the "father of all bombs " or FOAB. Russia's bomb is known as the aviation thermobaric bomb of increased power. It is four times more powerful than the MOAB.
The Russian bomb
The Russian bomb was first tested in 2007.
This is the thermobaric bomb. Its destruction capacity is equivalent to 44 tons of TNT. This makes it the largest non-nuclear bomb in the world. This is almost as powerful as a small nuclear bomb, with the advantage that it does not lead to any radiation contamination. The Russians have tested this weapon but have never used it in actual combat. In contrast, the American bomb was assembled in 2003 for the Iraq war. It was not used at that time, because of the apprehension that it may cause very high civilian casualties.The American weapon is a satellite-guided device. Whether it is more or less deadly than the Russian weapon is only a matter for discussion.
Comparison
The Russian device is, however, not as sophisticated as the American bomb.
In addition, the bomb has never been tested in actual battle conditions. It's a moot point as to how effective it will be. There is little chance that the Russians will use this bomb in their military campaign in Syria. The Americans had a perfect place to use the bomb in the remote mountains of Afghanistan. This area is sparsely populated and the Americans could use their weapon.
This luxury is not available to the Russians. Military Technology of Russia is, however, fairly advanced as can be seen from the string of military aircraft that have come out from the stables of the Russian aviation industry. To dismiss the Russian claim of the father of all bombs as propaganda, can only be at the risk of not recognizing the reality.
Cost effective weapon?
The Russian bomb has reportedly been tested in Siberia. The Americans have 15 of these bombs stored, but the cost of each Is 15 million dollars. It is a costly weapon to use and one cannot be sure that in actual battle it is a cost-effective option.The weapon is reported to have killed 94 insurgents. It is hoped that the collateral damage of closing the caves and tunnels is more effective. War is a costly business and the USA has stretched its resources thinly from Korea to Afghanistan and Iraq. This is not a wise move.
