'Daisy cutter' a giant

2003-03-20 12:44

Washington - The "daisy cutter" is the biggest conventional US bomb, a 7.5 ton behemoth, so large it has to be pushed out of the back of a C-130 cargo plane.

But the air force is working on an even bigger one.

General John Jumpers, the air force chief of staff, said the military was developing a 9.5 ton air burst bomb that reportedly would pack the punch of a small nuclear weapon.

Its purpose would be the same as the daisy cutter - "to create a massive explosion", Jumpers said.

The bomb was first used in Vietnam to clear jungle to make helicopter landing zones, and is most effective against infantry in open areas - hence the nickname "daisy cutter".

In Afghanistan, it was used at least once as a "psychological weapon" to root out al-Qaeda fighters hole up in mountain caves.

- AFX