MOAB
Military abbreviation · Weapon and Military Equipment
| Stands for | Massive Ordnance Air Blast |
|---|---|
| Categories | Military |
MOAB stands for Massive Ordnance Air Blast, a weapon and military equipment abbreviation.
GBU-43/B, a GPS-guided bomb weighing about 21,600 pounds, one of the largest non-nuclear bombs in the US arsenal, dropped from a cargo plane by parachute extraction. It is nicknamed the "Mother of All Bombs."
Example: The US dropped a MOAB on an Islamic State tunnel complex in Afghanistan in April 2017.
Usage notes
The first and only publicized combat use was on April 13, 2017, in Afghanistan's Nangarhar province. MOAB is designed for blast effect over a wide area rather than penetration. Russia later publicized a larger thermobaric bomb nicknamed the "Father of All Bombs."
Related abbreviations
More weapon and military equipment abbreviations
- LMG – Light machine gun
- MANPADS – Man-portable air-defense system
- MBT – Main battle tank
- MG – Machine gun
- MIRV – Multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle
- MLRS – Multiple Launch Rocket System
- MOP – Massive Ordnance Penetrator
- MQ – Multi-mission unmanned aircraft
- MRAP – Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle
- NASAMS – National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System
- NLAW – Next-generation Light Anti-tank Weapon
- NVG – Night vision goggles