Bomb

Bomb, explosive weapon that injures and kills on detonation. World War I bombs dropped by aircraft weighed as much as 660 lb (300 kg). During the late 1960s, the United States built bombs weighing 15,000 lb (6,800 kg) for use in the Vietnam War. The development of the atomic bomb enormously increased explosive power. In 1952, the United States exploded an even more destructive (10.4 megaton) hydrogen bomb, with an explosive force equivalent to 10.4 million tons of TNT. Hydrogen bombs with an explosive power of up to 100 million tons of TNT have been built since then. The so-called “smart bomb” was developed in the 1980s and used extensively in the Persian Gulf War of 1991. These bombs contain electronic mechanisms that guide the trajectory and have remarkable pinpoint accuracy. The use of cameras located in the “nose” of the bombs have provided excellent photographs of such hits.

See also: Explosive.