MOAB (GBU-43/B Mother of All Bombs)
USA · 2003 · 11 t of TNT equivalent · conventional high-explosive
Overview
GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast.
With about 11 t of TNT equivalent[1], the MOAB (Mother of All Bombs) is 1,364× smaller than the Hiroshima bomb. It is a conventional high-explosive weapon that releases its energy through chemical reactions, not nuclear processes. [2]
Effect radii not shown
The MOAB (Mother of All Bombs) is a conventional (non-nuclear) weapon. The nuclear blast and thermal scaling laws this site uses do not apply to chemical explosives, so no effect radii are shown. See the methodology page.
Related Weapons
FAQ
What is the yield of the MOAB (Mother of All Bombs)?
The MOAB (Mother of All Bombs) is rated at about 11 t of TNT equivalent. That is 1,364× smaller than the Hiroshima bomb.
Is the MOAB (Mother of All Bombs) bigger than the Hiroshima bomb?
The Hiroshima bomb (Little Boy) had a yield of approximately 15 kilotons. The MOAB (Mother of All Bombs) at 11 t TNT is 1,364× smaller than the Hiroshima bomb.[3]
Sources
- 1.Source: Wikipedia, GBU-43/B MOAB — retrieved Oct 2026
- 2.Source: US DoD & ERDA (Glasstone & Dolan), via Atomic Archive, The Effects of Nuclear Weapons, 3rd ed. (1977), Chapter 1 — retrieved Oct 2026
- 3.Source: US DOE / NNSA Nevada Field Office, United States Nuclear Tests, July 1945 through September 1992 (DOE/NV-209 Rev. 16, Sep 2015), NNSS publication library — retrieved Oct 2026