Editing Cluster munition (section)

==Types==
[[File:BLU-3 Pineapple Cluster bomblet.jpg|upright|thumb|A US Vietnam era BLU-3 cluster bomblet]]

A basic cluster bomb consists of a hollow shell and then two to more than 2,000 submunitions or bomblets contained within it. Some types are dispensers that are designed to be retained by the aircraft after releasing their munitions. The submunitions themselves may be fitted with small [[parachute]] retarders or [[Model rocket#Parachute/Streamer|streamer]]s to slow their descent (allowing the aircraft to escape the blast area in low-altitude attacks).<ref>{{Cite web|title=How Cluster Bombs Work|url=https://www.hi-us.org/how_cluster_bombs_work|access-date=2021-02-03|website=HI|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0" />

Modern cluster bombs and submunition dispensers can be multiple-purpose weapons containing a combination of anti-armor, anti-personnel, and anti-materiel munitions. The submunitions themselves may also be multi-purpose, such as combining a [[shaped charge]], to attack armour, with a fragmenting case, to attack infantry, material, and light vehicles. They may also have an incendiary function.

Since the 1990s submunition-based weapons have been designed that deploy [[Smart bomb|smart]] submunitions, using thermal and visual sensors to locate and attack particular targets, usually armored vehicles. Weapons of this type include the US [[CBU-97]] [[sensor-fuzed weapon]], first used in combat during [[Operation Iraqi Freedom]], the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Some munitions specifically intended for anti-tank use can be set to self-destruct if they reach the ground without locating a target, theoretically reducing the risk of unintended civilian deaths and injuries. Although smart submunition weapons are much more expensive than standard cluster bombs, fewer smart submunitions are required to defeat dispersed and mobile targets, partly offsetting their cost. Because they are designed to prevent indiscriminate area effects and unexploded ordnance risks, some smart munitions are excluded from coverage by the Convention on Cluster Munitions.<ref>{{cite web |title=Twelve Facts and Fallacies about the Convention on Cluster Munitions |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2009/04/14/twelve-facts-and-fallacies-about-convention-cluster-munitions |publisher=Human Rights Watch |access-date=29 April 2021 |date=14 April 2009}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=May 30, 2008|title=Convention on Cluster Munitions|url=https://www.clusterconvention.org/files/2011/01/Convention-ENG.pdf#page=2|access-date=February 3, 2021|website=clusterconvention.org|page=2, Art. 2 Nr. 2|archive-date=January 27, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210127005635/http://clusterconvention.org/files/2011/01/Convention-ENG.pdf#page=2|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Incendiary===
[[File:Molotov bread basket.jpg|thumb|upright|During the [[Winter War]] of 1939–1940, the [[Soviet Union]] dropped RRAB-3, nicknamed [[Molotov bread basket]]s, which scattered incendiary bomblets, on Finland.]]

Incendiary cluster bombs are intended to start fires, just like conventional [[incendiary bomb]]s (firebombs). They contain submunitions of [[white phosphorus]] or [[napalm]], and can be combined anti-personnel and anti-tank submunitions to hamper firefighting efforts.<ref name=":0" /> In urban areas they have been preceded by the use of conventional explosive bombs to fracture the roofs and walls of buildings to expose their flammable contents. One of the earliest examples is the so-called [[Molotov bread basket]] used by the Soviet Union in the [[Winter War]] of 1939–40. Incendiary clusters were extensively used by both sides in the [[Strategic bombing during World War II|strategic bombings of World War II]]. They caused [[firestorm]]s and [[conflagration]]s in the [[bombing of Dresden in World War II]] and the [[firebombing of Tokyo]]. Some modern bomb submunitions deliver a highly combustible [[thermobaric]] aerosol that results in a high pressure explosion when ignited.{{Citation needed|date=November 2009}}

===Anti-personnel===
Anti-personnel cluster bombs use explosive [[fragmentation (weaponry)|fragmentation]] to kill troops and destroy soft (unarmored) targets. Along with incendiary cluster bombs, these were among the first types of [[List of weapons of military aircraft of Germany during World War II#Cluster bombs|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. They were also used with a contact fuze when attacking entrenchments. These weapons were widely used during the [[Vietnam War]] when many thousands of tons of submunitions were dropped on Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.<ref>[http://www.paxchristi.nl/catalogus/uploaded_file.aspx?id=98 Cluster Weapons; Convenience or necessity?] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061004114519/http://www.paxchristi.nl/catalogus/uploaded_file.aspx?id=98 |date=October 4, 2006 }}</ref>

===Anti-tank===
Most anti-armor munitions contain shaped charge [[warhead]]s to pierce the armor of [[tank]]s and [[armored fighting vehicle]]s. In some cases, guidance is used to increase the likelihood of successfully hitting a vehicle. Modern guided submunitions, such as those found in the US CBU-97, can use either a shaped charge or an [[explosively formed penetrator]]. Unguided shaped-charge submunitions are designed to be effective against entrenchments that incorporate overhead cover. To simplify supply and increase battlefield effectiveness by allowing a single type of round to be used against nearly any target, submunitions that incorporate both fragmentation and shaped-charge effects are produced.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Anti Tank submunitions shaped-charge effects are produced - Cluster Bomb {{!}} Development History {{!}} - YTread |url=https://youtuberead.com/cluster-bomb-development-history |access-date=2023-04-05 |website=youtuberead.com |language=en}}</ref>

===Anti-electrical===
An anti-electrical weapon, the [[Graphite bomb|CBU-94/B]], was first used by the US in the [[Kosovo War]] in 1999. These consist of a TMD (Tactical Munitions Dispenser) filled with 202 submunitions. Each submunition contains a small explosive charge that disperses 147 reels of fine conductive fiber of either carbon or aluminum-coated glass. Their purpose is to disrupt and damage [[electric power transmission]] systems by producing [[short circuit]]s in high-voltage power lines and [[electrical substation]]s. On the initial attack, these knocked out 70% of the electrical power supply in [[Serbia]].