Cluster Munitions, otherwise known as “cluster bombs” or “cluster strikes,” are a form of explosive weapon designed and utilised during WWII. As their name implies, they are not a single bomb, but rather a collection of smaller bombs, called bomblets, which are dispersed over a wide area. The payload of a cluster bomb comes in the form of a large shell, which was originally delivered to an area through dropping it out of a plane. However, through developments in technology over time they could also be deployed by missiles from range. During flight, the payload of a cluster munition would spin then open upon reaching a desired range from the target location, which would fling the bomblets out in a wide area due to centrifugal force. With this in mind, the area of the cluster strike could be calibrated by opening the payload at different times, giving different bomblet distributions.

Their main strategic value comes in the form of area denial, with cluster strikes being the most effective way to damage a large area. According to physics and mathematics, you are able to damage a far larger area by strategically splitting up a singular explosive charge into multiple, smaller explosive charges spread over a wide area. With this, a single cluster strike is capable of destroying multiple high value targets, making it a tempting choice for the military.

However, in recent decades, there has been a shift in the lines of what has been deemed appropriate for a country to do during a war or conflict. Countries have begun bombing civilian areas, with little guise for the Geneva Convention and the lives of the innocent civilians living there. This brings to light a major issue with cluster strikes, being their indiscriminate destruction of infrastructure and human lives. Cities where cluster strikes have been used have often been reduced to flat rubble, with multi-story buildings, hospitals, schools, and more all being flattened through the process of war. This destruction of basic infrastructure can cripple a nation’s attempt to rebuild after a conflict, causing long term social and economic instability.

On top of this, cluster strikes are also notorious for failing to detonate on impact, leading to bomblets often being scattered in the rubble. This is a major issue as it which can leads to people discovering them in the future and being injured. These pieces of unexploded ordnance, often referred to as UXOs, can damage any efforts to conduct activities within a region, such as search and rescue, rebuilding, etc. These bomblets can remain dormant for an indefinite period of time, and if left unchecked, can cause casualties long after the initial war is over.

All of these combined issues have led to cluster munitions becoming an extremely controversial topic in the eyes of many. People have brought up the point that their use is meaningless, as precision missile strikes could guarantee the same destruction, but limited to only military assets, ignoring civilian infrastructure and lives. This eventually culminated in the Convention of Cluster Munitions, prohibiting the use, production, transfer, and stockpiling of cluster munitions. However many countries such as China, India, Israel, North Korea, Russia, and the United States to name a few, have not signed this agreement.

If nothing is done about the use of cluster munitions, then civilians will be carelessly left exposed to their unprecedented collateral.

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