osmigo@emx.utexas.edu (rn) (10/08/90)
From: ut-emx!osmigo@emx.utexas.edu (rn) [mod.note: We covered this topic not long ago, and yet I've gotten half-a dozen notes on it tonight. I sent back the first 3, but with this one I gave up and decided it was a concensus that the topic should be renewed. My apologies to those posters whose articles I rejected; I hope I don't seem hypocritical by posting this one. - Bill ] There was some recent publicity in the news media wherein Saddam claimed that he had, and was prepared to use, a weapon comparable to a nuclear fission device, but that it was non-nuclear. This is presumably a FAM (fuel-air-munition). My understanding is that a FAM consists of a highly compressed explosive gas (e.g., propane) connected to two explosives. The first charge detonates, releasing the gas and allowing it to disperse. After it has dispersed to a specified extent, the second charge detonates and ignites it, causing a *tremendous* explosion. FAM's were reportedly used in Vietnam to create "instant LZ's" for choppers. They'd blow away the trees, bushes, grass, everything. I've read that FAM's have limited usefulness in urban areas because structures interfere with the gas's dissipation, but in open areas (e.g., desert terrain) they can have a devastating effect on exposed infantry, functioning as a sort of mega-concussion bomb. Can anyone here add to this topic, especially where the Gulf situation is concerned? Ron Morgan osmigo@emx.utexas.edu