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Bombs, Cluster

A cluster bomb is an unpowered and unguided air-dropped or ground-launched explosive weapon that ejects smaller munitions, called submunitions, designed to kill enemy personnel, destroy vehicles, make runways unusable, or disperse chemical or biological agents or nonlethal items such as leaflets, over a target area. This entry discusses the types of cluster bombs and their submunitions.

General Description

A cluster bomb consists of the bomblets and a dispenser that holds the bomblets while in flight to the target area and then dispenses them over the target area. Some dispensers fall away from the aircraft and are stabilized in flight by fin assemblies. They use either mechanical timers or proximity fuzes that cause the submunitions to disperse at a predetermined height above the target. Multiple-piece dispensers open up ...

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