Thermobaric Bomb

May 11, 2023

Human rights group accused Myanmar’s military of using thermobaric bomb.
Thermobaric weapons — also known as aerosol bombs, fuel air explosives, or vaccum bombs — use oxygen from the air for a large, high-temperature blast.
- A thermobaric weapon causes significantly greater devastation than a conventional bomb of comparable size.
A thermobaric bomb consists of a fuel container with two separate explosive charges.
When it hits its target, first explosive charge opens the container and widely scatters fuel mixture as a cloud.
A second charge then detonates the cloud, resulting in a huge fireball, a massive blast wave and a vacuum which sucks up all surrounding oxygen.
These can be fired as rockets from tank-mounted launchers or dropped from aircraft.
There are no international laws specifically banning their use.