Russian "Father of All Bombs" May Be Hoax

Several weeks after Russia boasted of successfully testing the world's most powerful non-nuclear bomb, US experts and officials are beginning to voice doubts. Careful analysis of video footage of the device reveal inconsistencies, particularly about just what kind of bomb it was, Wired reports. "You've got to approach Russian claims with skepticism," one analyst says.

Another defense expert said that while the blast may be bigger than that of its American counterpart, the Mother of All Bombs, "it's not four times bigger," as originally claimed. Others question the bomb's novelty, citing the Russian military's habit of renaming old weapons in order to produce the appearance of military strength—which is often just as useful as the real thing. (More Russian military stories.)