What is a cluster bomb called?

What is a cluster bomb called?

A cluster munition (or cluster bomb) is a container filled with small explosive bombs called “sub-munitions.” This container may be a shell, rocket, missile, or other device. Dropped from an aircraft or fired from the ground, it opens in the air and releases the sub-munitions.

What is a cluster bomb and how does it work?

A cluster munition, or cluster bomb, is a weapon containing multiple explosive submunitions. Cluster munitions are dropped from aircraft or fired from the ground or sea, opening up in mid-air to release tens or hundreds of submunitions, which can saturate an area up to the size of several football fields.

What were cluster bombs Vietnam?

Cluster bombs are designed as anti-personnel, anti-armor weapons, but the primary victims have been innocent civilians. Cluster bombs have a significant failure rate (up to 30% in Laos during the Vietnam War), which means that they often fail to explode upon hitting the ground but continue to pose a risk of detonation.

Why are cluster bombs used?

Cluster bombs are weapons that open in the air, releasing submunitions, or “bomblets,” that are dispersed over a large area, intended to wreak destruction on multiple targets at once. Cluster bombs can be delivered by planes, artillery and missiles, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross.

What is the meaning of cluster munitions?

Cluster munitions are weapons consisting of a container that opens in the air and scatters large numbers of explosive submunitions or ” bomblets ” over a wide area. Depending on the model, the number of submunitions can vary from several dozen to more than 600.

Who invented cluster bombs?

During the 1950s and 1960s, the United States and Soviet Union developed cluster weapons designed to deliver chemical weapons. The Chemical Weapons Convention of 1993 banned their use. Six member nations declared themselves in possession of chemical weapons.

When were cluster bombs made?

These sensor-fuzed submunitions are designed to sense and destroy vehicles without creating an extensive hazard area of unexploded submunitions. Cluster bombs were first used in World War II, and inclusive of their debut, cluster munitions have been used in at least 21 states by at least 13 different countries.

Who used cluster bombs?

1960s–1970s in Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam: US forces make extensive use of cluster munitions in bombing campaigns. The ICRC estimates that in Laos alone, 9 to 27 million unexploded submunitions remain, and some 11,000 people have been killed or injured, more than 30 percent of them children.

How much do cluster bombs cost?

The bomb can be dropped by a variety of modern-day aircraft. It is 7 feet 7 inches (2.31 meters) long, has a diameter of 16 inches (41 centimeters), and weighs roughly 951 pounds (431 kg). The price is US$14,000 per bomb.

How the cluster bomb is made?

Cluster bombs consist of an outer casing containing dozens of small bomblets; the casing splits open in midair, releasing a shower of bomblets that explode upon impact. Cluster bombs have both fragmentation and antiarmour capabilities.

When were cluster bombs used?

Which country invented cluster bombs?

Along with incendiary cluster bombs, these were among the first types of cluster bombs produced by Nazi Germany during World War II. They were used during the Blitz with delay and booby-trap fusing to hamper firefighting and other damage-control efforts in the target areas.