Lob bomb
Encyclopedia
Rocket
A rocket is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle which obtains thrust from a rocket engine. In all rockets, the exhaust is formed entirely from propellants carried within the rocket before use. Rocket engines work by action and reaction...
-fired improvised explosive device
Improvised explosive device
An improvised explosive device , also known as a roadside bomb, is a homemade bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action...
made from a large metal canister
Canister
The term canister comes from Latin or Greek . It means:* Originally, from Greek καννα , a basket of woven reeds...
(usually a propane
Propane
Propane is a three-carbon alkane with the molecular formula , normally a gas, but compressible to a transportable liquid. A by-product of natural gas processing and petroleum refining, it is commonly used as a fuel for engines, oxy-gas torches, barbecues, portable stoves, and residential central...
gas tank that has been drained of its contents and filled with explosives, scrap
Scrap
Scrap is a term used to describe recyclable and other materials left over from every manner of product consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap has significant monetary value...
metal, and ball bearing
Ball bearing
A ball bearing is a type of rolling-element bearing that uses balls to maintain the separation between the bearing races.The purpose of a ball bearing is to reduce rotational friction and support radial and axial loads. It achieves this by using at least two races to contain the balls and transmit...
s), which has been used by insurgents
Iraqi insurgency
The Iraqi Resistance is composed of a diverse mix of militias, foreign fighters, all-Iraqi units or mixtures opposing the United States-led multinational force in Iraq and the post-2003 Iraqi government...
during the Iraq War since late 2007. The weapon is essentially an airborne version of a roadside bomb
Improvised explosive device
An improvised explosive device , also known as a roadside bomb, is a homemade bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action...
.
Design
Lob bombs are propelled by 107 mm rockets and launched, several at a time, from the backs of small truckTruck
A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, with the smallest being mechanically similar to an automobile...
s where they are arranged in rows, sometimes by remote control
Remote control
A remote control is a component of an electronics device, most commonly a television set, used for operating the television device wirelessly from a short line-of-sight distance.The remote control is usually contracted to remote...
(using a signal from either a cell phone, cordless phone, command wire, or other form of remote control device). They are typically launched in an arc
Arc (geometry)
In geometry, an arc is a closed segment of a differentiable curve in the two-dimensional plane; for example, a circular arc is a segment of the circumference of a circle...
ed trajectory
Trajectory
A trajectory is the path that a moving object follows through space as a function of time. The object might be a projectile or a satellite, for example. It thus includes the meaning of orbit—the path of a planet, an asteroid or a comet as it travels around a central mass...
, which enables them to be aimed over walls that enclose U.S. bases and other military facilities, in a similar manner to a conventional mortar
Mortar (weapon)
A mortar is an indirect fire weapon that fires explosive projectiles known as bombs at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It is typically muzzle-loading and has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber....
. The weapon is believed to be highly inaccurate, and unofficial estimates place the range of lob bombs used so far as being between 50 and 150 yards.
History
According to U.S. military officials, lob bombs are designed to cause "catastrophic damage," and have the ability to kill "scores of soldiers" at once, more than conventional improvised explosive devices. As of July 12, 2008, out of 11 lob bomb attacks on American bases, three U.S. soldiers have been killed and 15 have been wounded, all three deaths occurring in an April 28, 2008 attack on a U.S. base in eastern BaghdadBaghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
.
So far, the weapon has only been encountered in Baghdad, where it appears to be used by Shiite militias, whose superior ability to conceal forensic evidence about their identity has been acknowledged by the U.S. military. The U.S. military has found that the rockets used to propel the lob bombs have been produced in Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, Russia, and China. One media report indicates such a munition may have been used by the Taliban to bring down a Chinook helicopter in Afghanistan on August 6, 2011.
Such devices were first described in the international media in July 2008. In July 2008 Major General
Major general (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general-officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general...
Jeffery Hammond
Jeffery Hammond
Major General Jeffery W. Hammond is a United States Army officer service. He is currently the Chief of Staff service Forces Command...
, the commander of the 4th Infantry Division and commander of U.S. forces in Baghdad, called the lob bomb "the greatest threat right now that we face."
The type of improvised launch system and rocket is not new to warfare. The Provisional Irish Republican Army
Provisional Irish Republican Army
The Provisional Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation whose aim was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and bring about a socialist republic within a united Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion...
used a similar system to conduct a February 1991 attack on 10 Downing Street
Downing Street mortar attack
The Downing Street mortar attack was carried out by the Provisional Irish Republican Army on 10 Downing Street, London, the British Prime Minister John Major's official residence. The 7 February 1991 attack, an assassination attempt on Major and his War Cabinet who were meeting to discuss the...
, the London office and home of the British prime minister.
External links
Video
- Story from Democracy Now! program, July 11, 2008