Cluster
munitions are large weapons that contain dozens and
often hundreds of smaller sub munitions. After being
dropped from the air by planes or helicopters or fired
from the ground by artillery or rocket launchers,
cluster munitions open up in the air and release their
sub munitions over a wide area. The sub munitions from
air-dropped cluster munitions are called bomblets, and
those from ground-delivered cluster munitions are called
grenades. The sub munitions often have both antipersonnel
and anti-armour effects. With very few exceptions, both
cluster munitions and sub munitions are unguided weapons.
The military values cluster munitions because of their
wide footprint; they can destroy broad, relatively soft
targets, like airfields and surface-to-air missile
sites. They can also be effective against targets that
move or do not have precise locations. |
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