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1 1 (June 27, 2008)

handle is hein.crs/crsajwc0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Order Code RS22907 June 27, 2008 Cluster Munitions: Background and Issues for Congress Andrew Feickert Specialist in Military Ground Forces Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division Summary Cluster munitions are air-dropped or ground-launched munitions that release a number of smaller submunitions intended to kill enemy personnel or destroy vehicles. Cluster munitions were developed in World War II and are part of many nations' weapons stockpiles. Cluster munitions have been used frequently in combat, including the early phases of the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Cluster munitions have been highly criticized internationally for causing a significant number of civilian deaths, and efforts have been undertaken to ban and regulate their use. This report will be updated. What Are Cluster Munitions?' Cluster munitions are weapons that open in mid- air and dispense smaller submunitions - anywhere from a few dozen to hundreds -into an area. They can be delivered by aircraft or from ground systems such as artillery, rockets, and missiles. Cluster munitions are valued militarily because one munition can kill or destroy many targets within its impact area, and fewer weapons systems are needed to deliver fewer munitions to attack multiple targets. Cluster munitions also permit a smaller force to engage a larger adversary and are considered by some an economy of force weapon. Many cluster munitions rely on simple mechanical fuzes that arm the submunition based on its rate of spin and explode on impact or after a time delay. A newer generation of sensor-fuzed submunitions are being introduced by a number of nations to improve the munitions' and submunitions' accuracy and to reduce the large number of residual unexploded submunitions. These sensor-fuzed submunitions are designed to sense and destroy vehicles without creating an extensive hazard area of unexploded submunitions. 1 Information in this section unless otherwise noted is from Mark Hiznay, Operational and Technical Aspects of Cluster Munitions, United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research Disarmament Forum, 2006, pp. 15-25.

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