China Tests Massive Ordnance Bomb

China has tested its most powerful non-nuclear bomb, claimed to be similar to the US-made Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB) which was dropped from a H-6K bomber sometime in December.

Called the ‘mother of all bombs’ taking off from the MOAB acronym, the bomb can obliterate armored fortifications and defensive positions using tanks and armored vehicles, state owned media reported.

The China North Industries Group Corporation Limited (NORINCO), on its website, showcased a new type of MOAB in a promotional video being air dropped by an H-6K bomber in December.

This is the first time the new bomb's destructive powers have been shown in public, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Wednesday.

According to the report, the new bomb is China’s most powerful non-nuclear bomb and the H-6K is capable of carrying only one at a time due to the bomb’s size.

Judging from the video and the size of the H-6K's bomb bay, this bomb is approximately five to six meters long, Wei Dongxu, a Beijing-based military analyst was quoted as saying by Global Times on Thursday.

"The massive blast can easily and completely wipe out fortified ground targets such as reinforced buildings, bastions and defense shelters," Wei said.

It can also be used to clear a landing zone for troops on helicopters to rappel down, in case the area is covered by obstacles such as forests, Wei noted.

Wei said that the Chinese bomb is smaller and lighter than the US one, enabling it to be deployed on the H-6K bomber.

The US bomb is so large that it has to be carried by a larger transport aircraft rather than a bomber, Wei said, noting that a bomber can fly faster and is better at targeting than a transport aircraft, and the Chinese bomb's designer must have had this in mind when it produced the bomb to fit the H-6K.