Months after the United States dropped the largest non-nuclear bomb — also known as the Mother of all Bombs (MOAB ) on a section of the leadership of the Islamic State group in Afghanistan, a senior Commander of the Iran's Army has said his country now possesses an indigenously-made non-nuclear bomb called the Father of all Bombs (FOAB).
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While the MOAB weighed 21,600 pounds (approximately 9.7 ton), Iran's latest ordnance weighs 22,046 pounds (10 ton).
The announcement about the bomb was made by the Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) top commander Amir Ali Hajizadeh during an interview with the Press TV on Friday.
"Following a proposal by the Aerospace Force of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), Iran's Defence Industries manufactured 10-ton bombs. These bombs are at our disposal," IRGC Hajizadeh was quoted as saying by the TV channel.
Hajizadeh called Iran's new ordnance the Father of All Bombs while comparing it to the US' GBU-43/B, or Massive Ordnance Air Blast Bomb, because the former is superior in weight.
The powerful MOAB, which was developed in 2003, was dropped on tunnels in Afghanistan's Nangarhar province from an MC-130 aircraft in April and had killed 90-odd people.
Though Hajizadeh did not provide any specific details on the capabilities of the FOAB, he said the Iranian weapon as also destructive. "They can be launched from Ilyushin aircraft and they are highly destructive," claimed Hajizadeh.
Iran has however maintained that its military capabilities are solely aimed for defence purposes.
FOAB already exists?
While Iran is celebrating what it has chosen to call the Father of all Bombs, it must be kept in mind that Russia already possesses a non-nuclear ordnance that has the same moniker. This might lead to a difference of opinion over the patent rights over the name.
The GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB) bomb.Reuters 
In picture: A combination of still images taken from a video released by the US Department of Defence on April 14, 2017, shows (clockwise) the explosion of a MOAB, or "mother of all bombs", when it struck the Achin district of the eastern province of Nangarhar, Afghanistan, bordering Pakistan where US officials said a network of tunnels and caves was being used by militants linked to ISIS.Reuters
According to an RT Question More report, Russia had successfully tested the Aviation Thermobaric Bomb of Increased Power — also known as the FOAB or simply Daddy — in 2007.
The bomb had yielded impressive results for a non-nuclear device – a 44-ton yield when detonated. Russia's FOAB can cause twice the damage as compared to the MOAB, owing to its supersonic shockwave and extremely high temperatures.
