WTDWehrtechnische Dienststelle 91: Detonation of a Bunker Buster

The detonation can still clearly be felt inside the small reinforced concrete bunker that is situated on a small hill at a distance of 17 kilometers from the entrance of the Bundeswehr Technical Center for Weapons and Ammunition (WTDWehrtechnische Dienststelle 91).

Approximately an hour earlier, on a Monday in June, a WTDWehrtechnische Dienststelle 91 ammunition transport stops at the demolition site close to the bunker. A wheel loader unloads six bombs with a total weight of approx. three tons and puts them right in the center of the site. The huge weapon is a bunker buster with a length of approximately two meters. Once all the tests have been completed, the bombs are supposed to be used on the Eurofighter aircraft.

“Today, we are going to check the behavior of the other bombs after one of them has detonated” explains Sebastian Dartmann, test manager for today's detonation. “Ideally, nothing will happen. In the worst case, the other bombs also detonate.” According to Dartmann, such trials are important for planning ammunition transports as well as for bomb storage.

Preparing such a trial is labor-intensive. “Of course, we need a lot of metrology to be able to understand what exactly happens during such an incident,” says the 35-year-old mechanical engineer. “Furthermore, regulations with respect to environmental protection, occupational safety, noise protection and many other things must be taken into account.”

While he is recounting the conditions and requirements, WTDWehrtechnische Dienststelle 91 firing control reports by radio. “We have to interrupt,” Dartmann informs the range technicians. In order to exclude the so-called focus, a meteorological investigation must be carried out. “During certain meteorological conditions the blast wave may be reflected back to earth from the sky. As a consequence, window panes, somewhere several kilometers away, may burst. Of course, we would like to prevent this from happening by carrying out these investigations.”

After a few minutes, the all-clear is announced. “We can start now,” says Dartmann. Everybody has to leave the demolition site. At some hundred meters distance, there is a Bundeswehr armored transport vehicle, behind that, an ambulance and the Bundeswehr fire brigade - just in case. Only Mr Dartmann and a colleague are allowed to stay in the bunker on the edge of the demolition site. “We sometimes work with untested ammunition and prototypes. Thus, on principle, we are very cautious,” explains Dartmann, who is a native of the nearby city of Lingen.

Three, two, one...

The moment has come. Everyone in the bunker is very focussed. Sebastian Dartmann is looking out of the narrow ballistic glass window at the demolition site. Next to him, the screens of the video cameras and other metrological sensors are flickering. He is holding a small box with a red button in his hands. He turns the crank and counts down. Three. Two. One.

by Dominik Wullers