BLU-82

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A 15,000lb BLU-82/B on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force

The BLU-82 daisy cutter is a bomb used by the US Military, specifically the United States Air Force. The origins of the name 'daisy cutter' are disputed. It is generally supposed to derive from Vietnam War-era usage of the device, but in that era, it was known as Commando Vault when used to clear landing fields (rumored to be able to clear a 300 foot diameter landing zone) for helicopters by being dropped from a C-130 transport aircraft, or as Big Blue 82 for the bomb on its own. In the Vietnam war, Daisy Cutter was generally used to refer to a standoff bomb fuze. It was first used in Vietnam on March 23, 1970. It should be noted that although commonly referred to as daisy cutter, the term actually refers to the fuse extender on the nose of the bomb. Other bombs, such as the US MK-80 family, can also be fitted with Daisy Cutter fuse extenders. In the closing days of the fall of South Vietnam, the VNAF dropped these in combat on NVA troop concentrations against heavy antiaircraft fire.[Last Act in the South]

.Weighing a total of 15,000 lbs., the BLU-82/B was essentially a large thin-walled tank (1/4-inch steel plate) filled with a 12,600-lb. explosive "slurry" mixture. The designers optimized this bomb to clear vegetation while creating little or no crater, and it cleared landing zones about 260 feet in diameter — just right for helicopter operations. Since only cargo aircraft could carry them, C-130 crews delivered the BLU-82/B with normal parachute cargo extraction systems. The daisy cutter was originally used to create an instant clearing in dense jungle for helicopter landing zones. This use was met with mixed results. Often debris and shattered tree trunks littered the site much like sharpened stakes making the area unsuitable for landing. It can also be used to clear minefields of pressure sensitive mines or as means of massive firepower relying on its extreme blast effects. The BLU-82 must be parachute launched from the back of a transport plane, typically a C-130, because of its large size. The Air Force successfully lobbied for the development of an even larger, 9,800kg weapon, which would be deployed from a traditional bomber (i.e. B-52, B-2, B1). (See Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb)

It is primarily used today in combat zones such as Afghanistan as a psychological warfare agent. The atmospheric overpressure and seismic event are terrifying to all on the ground. Tests as a landmine-clearing weapon in the 1991 Gulf War against Iraq came up inconclusive; later in the campaign, it was used in a few instances for its psychological effect.^{([Disputed statementdisputed]—see [}

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