Cluster munitions

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An American B-1 bomber drops 30 cluster bombs
Marquardt CBU Mark 20 Rockeye II
CBU-87 Combined Effects ammunition was used in the Second Gulf War and in NATO attacks against Yugoslavia
Cluster bombs in the warhead of an M190 Honest John short-range missile , 1959
Molotov's bread basket was the Finnish name for an early Soviet cluster bomb that was used in the1940 winter war
The Yugoslav KB-1 is submunition of a total of 288 bomblets of the M-87 Orkan multiple rocket launcher that was used in the Yugoslavia and Second Gulf War

Cluster ammunition (also known as cluster ammunition ) is a form of explosive ammunition that is used in cassette bombs or bulk bombs . Such a bomb serves as a container that contains several smaller bomblets or submunitions , which are scattered after being dropped. Weapon systems based on this concept are used in the form of aerial bombs ( cluster bombs), artillery projectiles (also known as cargo ammunition) or as warheads for cruise missiles . There are various types of bomblets, both conventional types with explosive , fire , fragmentation and / or armor-piercing effects as well as special variants, for example mines or graphite bombs , which short-circuit substations or overhead lines with graphite threads.

Over 100 states have banned cluster bombs or are considering doing so.

History and functioning

Cluster munitions are not a modern invention. Cluster munitions existed as early as the 17th century. So-called rain or explosive balls are described in von Braun's fireworks book (1682). These were projectiles turned from wood which contained several hand grenades as submunitions. They were thrown from a mortar. When it was fired (depending on the type of ignition, either "from the haze" or with "two fires") a centrally mounted delay set was ignited. This burned down during the projectile's flight phase and thus ignited the ejection charges in the chambers for the hand grenades via several ignition channels in the wooden body of the projectile. They were expelled from their chambers by the resulting gas pressure and their fire tubes (igniters) were lit at the same time. In this way a "rain" of hand grenades was created and fell on the battlefield.

Rain or explosive ball according to Braun 1682.jpg

In World War II the: following Submunitionstypen were from the German side used cluster-bomb explosive bomb with thick walls and 1 kg short- SD 1 , the explosive bomb with thick walls and 2 kg short- SD 2 and the firebomb 1 kg electron shortly B 1 E 1.3 E, B, B 2 E etc., as well as the shaped charge bomb for fighting tanks SD 4 HL . These were packed into dropping containers of different sizes (for example AB 70 with 23 SD 2 or 50 SD 1 up to AB 1000 with 610 incendiary bombs B 1.3 E or 1000 SD 1), which in turn was dropped like a big bomb after a short time Fallzeit opened via a time fuse and released the small bombs. The explosive bombs, mostly dark green or dirty yellow for better camouflage, were distributed over an area and, depending on the detonator used, exploded on impact, after a predetermined time had elapsed or if the bomb was subsequently disrupted (see also: German dropping ammunition from World War II ).

During the Winter War , the Soviet side used an early type of cluster bomb (RRAB-3), which the Finns called the Molotov's bread basket . In contrast to the German model, the Soviet design did not contain explosives, but incendiary devices. During the Battle of Kursk , for the first time, shaped charge projectiles ( PTAB ) were used in bomb cartridges of 48 to fight tanks on the Soviet side .

The British and US side also used cluster bombs in World War II, both stick and liquid incendiary bombs and fragmentation explosive bombs (see air raids on Tokyo ). Italy also had its own cluster munitions (thermos bombs), which were mainly used in attacks on the island of Malta .

After the Second World War, cluster bomb technology was developed further by the United States and the Soviet Union. While the basic principle remained unchanged, various types of cluster bombs were developed for special military purposes and also implemented for types of use other than dropping from an aircraft; cluster munitions were also developed for artillery pieces or rocket launchers .

Cluster bombs were used in large quantities from various sides in the wars in Korea , Vietnam , Afghanistan , Kosovo , Lebanon and other theaters of war such as Used in Syria, Ukraine and Yemen, for example.

Use and effect

An American cluster bomb from the Korean War that was primarily used to drop propaganda material.

Currently, the cluster munitions is one of the airdrop weapons most commonly used, relegating the previously in mass airdrops usual cluster bomb or large-scale use of napalm .

Cluster munitions are mainly used against soft targets (unarmored vehicles, infantry, air defense systems, artillery positions, people, animals) or infrastructure such as roads and runways. Since the weapon does not have an actual explosion center due to the many mini bombs, the bomblets can also get behind cover or into trenches . The very large spatial radius of action increases the efficiency of the weapon against large-area targets or the probability of hitting small, moving targets in the attacked area. From a purely military point of view, cluster munitions are therefore one of the most effective conventional weapons that can be used against ground targets from a distance. Their mode of action always includes accepting extensive collateral damage in the target area.

One of the original forms of use, the mining of entire areas, is deliberately avoided by most armies today or is attempted by means of a bright, conspicuous coloration of the submunition and / or a self-destruct mechanism that automatically detonates the mine within 4 to 48 hours, to avoid long-term mining of operational areas. Other cluster munitions are used specifically against armored vehicles, as they can penetrate the relatively weakly armored top of the vehicle, even with small charges.

A variant that is mainly used in area bombing is the incendiary cluster bomb, which can distribute bomblets with napalm, thermite or similar substances over a large area. These bombs caused serious fires in bombed cities during World War II when they fell inside houses whose roofs had already been destroyed by conventional bombs.

During the Cold War , both sides developed cluster bombs suitable for a variety of biological and chemical warfare agents . It is unclear how many of these weapons, which are now banned by most countries, are in the arsenals. One of the most famous is the BLU-80 Bigeye glide bomb .

In current military conflicts, cluster bombs are mostly used in a mixture of explosive, fragmentation and armor-piercing charges.

Endangerment of the civilian population

An American BLU-3 bomb from the Vietnam War. (Pineapple bomb)

The use of cluster munitions, especially the anti-personnel variants, has been heavily criticized for humanitarian reasons, especially because of the ongoing threat to the civilian population from the uncontrolled distribution of duds in the target area. However, the cluster munitions used by critics as a rule, no efficient alternatives, such as area bombing of cluster bombs , napalm or thermobaric weapon advocates.

According to data from mine clearance personnel , between 10 and 30% of the bomblets do not explode on impact, but remain lying around as duds and, similar to land mines, pose a risk to the civilian population affected for many years. Children are very often affected by the bomblets because of their shape and Keep bright color for toys. Compared to land mines and anti-personnel mines, accidents involving duds from such bomblets particularly often affect a majority of people and the average death rate is higher. In the Kosovo war (1999), in the war in Afghanistan since 2001 and in the Iraq war (2003) a total of almost 16,000 cluster bombs with an estimated 2.3–2.5 million submunitions were used, in the 2006 Lebanon war , according to the UN , cluster bombs totaling more than four were used Millions of submunitions dropped by Israel. Even at the scenes of the Indochina Wars , especially in Laos and South Vietnam, duds from cluster bombs are still dangerous. However, new developments in the field of cluster munitions such as the CBU-97 and CBU-105 cluster bombs used by the United States Air Force , among others , have self-destruct mechanisms which, according to the manufacturer Textron, lower the rate of duds to zero and thus do not pose a threat to the civilian population could drastically reduce detonated bomblets.

In early July 2008, the United States Department of Defense issued a new technical requirement that at least 99 percent of the explosives in a cluster bomb must detonate from 2019. In November 2017, the entry into force of this requirement was postponed because, according to the Ministry of Defense, the relevant technology was not sufficiently developed to replace the stocks with safer weapons.

Serbia and Kosovo

NATO has confirmed that during operations by NATO forces in Kosovo, a total of 1,392 cluster bombs with 289,536 submunitions were deployed at 333 target or dropping points. According to unofficial information from a KFOR specialist in ordnance disposal , between 3 and 26% of the submunitions per container did not explode, NATO itself assumes around 10%, i.e. 30,000 explosive devices. By May 2000, 4,069 of these duds had been defused under UN supervision. According to the Red Cross, at least 50 deaths and 101 injuries were due to explosions of such submunitions by the end of May 2000. The population is not only at risk on land, as a total of 235 bombs of various types, including cluster bombs, were dropped over the Adriatic. In an incident in May 1999 in which a bomblet got caught in a fishing net, three Italian fishermen were injured.

NATO units also attacked Serbian troops and key targets in the infrastructure within Serbia, sometimes using cluster munitions.

Croatia

During Croatia War cluster munitions were from the Serbian side with the 87-M - rocket launchers against the downtown Zagreb used, where seven people were killed and 214 others were injured. As the cluster bombs were used for civilian purposes, the leader of the Republic of Serbian Krajina , Milan Martić , was charged and found guilty as a war criminal before the International Criminal Court in The Hague .

Afghanistan

In the Afghan war between 2001 and 2002, the United States armed forces used 1,228 cluster munitions, armed with 248,056 bomblets, against targets. According to Human Rights Watch , the Taliban armed forces have also used cluster munitions using Soviet-made BM-21 rocket launchers . According to the United Nations Mine Action Program (MAPA) , Afghanistan is one of the most severely affected countries in the world by landmines and non-detonated cluster munitions. Although MAPA removed more than 1.6 million duds from former combat areas, arable land, roads and residential areas there between March 1978 and December 2000, at least 2,812 people were killed and thousands more injured by remaining explosives in the same period.

Iraq

Cluster bombs were used in large numbers during the 2003 Iraq War. On April 1, 2003, according to a report by Amnesty International in Hilla, numerous dead and injured were taken to the local hospital, their bodies covered with cuts left by the splinters of cluster bombs. Up to 10,000 of the dropped cluster bombs and their submunitions are still found today as duds in cities, on cultivation areas or on the streets of Iraq.

Lebanon

During the 2006 Lebanon War , according to Human Rights Watch, both warring parties, Israel and Hezbollah , used cluster bombs. Cluster bombs used in Israeli air strikes in Lebanon have identified 378 impact areas, according to the United Nations Mine Action Co-Ordination Center of South Lebanon (MACC SL). According to Human Rights Watch, Hezbollah deployed Chinese-style Type 81 multiple rocket launchers armed with Type 90 submunitions on July 25 . The Israeli Armed Forces announced that they had provided maps showing the locations of the bombs for the mine clearance. Chris Clark, the coordinator of the UN demining program, described the maps as unusable, since they are only satellite maps with vague handwritten markings. As the news magazine Der Spiegel confirmed at the request of a senior Israeli government official, Israel has maps with the exact bomb target coordinates, but is holding them back for reasons of secrecy. As of April 22, 2007, the MACC SL recorded a total of 22 civilians killed and 178 injured by duds from cluster munitions in southern Lebanon - including 26 injured and 2 killed children under the age of 12. The Israeli cluster bombing operations in Lebanon, 90 percent of which, according to Jan Egeland, were only carried out during the last three days of the air strikes shortly before UN resolution 1701 came into force , have aroused criticism from various representatives and organizations of the UN and human rights organizations . MACC SL and the United Nations estimate that approximately four million bomblets were scattered during the 34-day battle, of which one million have not yet exploded. Israeli government and army spokespersons denied the criticism and said that weapons and ammunition were only used in Lebanon in accordance with international law.

Georgia

During the war in Georgia in August 2008, according to the human rights organization Human Rights Watch, cluster munitions were used by both the Russian and Georgian sides. At least 17 civilians were killed and dozen injured, probably mostly from Russian bombs. Some of the cluster bombs did not explode and continue to pose a threat to civilians. The cluster munitions led to crop losses because Georgian farmers would not enter their fields for fear of the bombs that had not exploded. Russia denies the use of cluster munitions in the Georgia conflict. Neither Russia nor Georgia have acceded to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

Laos

According to the National Regulatory Authority for the UXO / Mine Action Sector in the Lao PDR (NRA), Laos is the most bombed country in the world per capita: during the Vietnam War between 1964 and 1973, over 270 million submunitions were dropped from over 580,000 Bombs dropped, which corresponds to an average of one bomb attack every 8 minutes for 9 years. Since about 30% of the bomblets do not explode even under ideal test conditions, the NRA assumes that there have been up to 80 million explosive duds on the soil of Laos since the end of the bombing in 1973. More than 50,000 people were killed or injured by cluster munitions between 1964 and 2008, 20,000 of them after the war. Children in particular are at risk (23% of victims). Several governmental and non-governmental organizations are working to clear the affected areas; Between 1996 and 2009, around 500,000 submunitions and around 600,000 other duds could only be cleared as a fraction of the assumed total.

Many people in the very poor Laos live from collecting and selling scrap metal from cluster munitions containers. A kilogram of scrap brings metal collectors the equivalent of 1700 kip in 2004 (approx. 9 cents or 14 cents ).

Syria

In the first week of the Russian operation in Syria, Human Rights Watch reported on new types of cluster bombs originating from Russia. According to the cluster bomb monitor co-published by Human Rights Watch, 76 cluster bombs had been used during the Syrian civil war as of July 2016. In a Russian report from June 2016 cluster bombs were seen on Russian fighter planes.

Prohibition of cluster munitions under international law

Dropping a CBU-20 during a weapon test

Many human rights organizations oppose the use of these weapons, including the Red Cross , Human Rights Watch , Amnesty International , Handicap International , the German Initiative Group for the Ban on Landmines and parts of the United Nations .

Following the example of the campaign against landmines, which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997 and which resulted in a ban on landmines under international law , an international coalition, the Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC), was set up by civil society groups in 2003 to help the governments of the world a ban to move. The campaign focused in particular on the civilian casualties and the threat posed by cluster munitions beyond the conflict.

In the Cluster Munition Coalition, over 150 organizations around the world have come together against the use of cluster munitions.

Belgium was the first country to ban cluster bombs in February 2005; Norway issued a moratorium against their use and France and Austria are also considered opponents of submunitions. On the initiative of the Norwegian government took place on 22./23. The Oslo Conference on Cluster Munitions took place in Oslo in February 2007 , followed by follow-up conferences in Lima, Vienna and Wellington between May 2007 and February 2008.

In December 2007 Austria followed as the second country. The parliament in Vienna decided to destroy the cluster bombs in Austrian possession over a period of three years from January 2008.

On May 19, 2008, representatives from 111 countries came together for another conference in Dublin. They formulated a convention to outlaw the production, storage and use of cluster munitions ; this was signed in Oslo on December 3, 2008 and came into force on August 1, 2010.

However, this convention may be used. a. not supported by the USA, Russia, China, Israel, India, Pakistan and Brazil. None of the countries in North Africa and the Middle East except Tunisia, Lebanon and Iraq have signed it.

The EU states Greece, Finland, Latvia, Poland, Romania and Cyprus had also made reservations by the end of November 2008 or at least had not yet promised to sign. In November 2008 the European Parliament urged all EU member states to sign the convention and ratify it as soon as possible.

In response to pressure from several NATO states, exemptions have been approved that allow joint military actions with the armed forces of states that continue to support the use of cluster bombs.

As a reaction to the agreement on a convention, the German government also announced in May 2008 that it would immediately abandon this ammunition. Existing stocks should be destroyed as soon as possible. As early as 2002, 3,719 M42 bomblets were handed over to a French arms company. Exceptions apply to so-called point-target ammunition: types of cluster ammunition that are self-destructive or have a limited duration of action (e.g. carrier systems with the anti-tank mine DM 1274 AT2) do not fall under the ban. By November 25, 2015, the last of the Bundeswehr's cluster munitions had been destroyed.

See also

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  1. ↑ Thomas Reutter in 'Report Mainz' from June 7, 2010 , swr.de.
  2. ↑ Endicott, Hagerman: The United States and Biological Warfare - Secrets from the Early Cold War and Korea , ISBN 0-253-33472-1 .
  3. ↑ Mark Hiznay: Operational and technical aspects of cluster munitions . In: United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (Ed.): Disarmament Forum . No. (4) 2006 . United Nations, November 2006, ISSN  1020-7287 , p. 22 (English, unidir.org [PDF; 1.5 MB ; accessed on February 3, 2020]).
  4. ↑ a b Landmine Monitor (Ed.): Banning Cluster Munnitions: Government Policy and Practice . Mines Action Canada, 2009, ISBN 978-0-9738955-4-4 , pp. 15–16 (English, the-monitor.org [PDF; 4.9 MB ; accessed on February 3, 2020]).
  5. ↑ Lebanon War: Israel hands over cards to use cluster bombs. In: spiegel.de. Spiegel Online, May 13, 2009, accessed February 3, 2020 .
  6. ^ The SFW: A Next-Generation Area Weapon. (PDF; 130 KB) In: textronsystems.com. Textron , January 20, 2014; archived from the original on March 27, 2016 ; accessed on February 3, 2020 (English).
  7. ↑ Cluster bombs: Pentagon orders higher detonation rate. In: spiegel.de. Spiegel Online, July 8, 2008, accessed February 3, 2020 .
  8. ↑ Phil Stewart: US military to indefinitely delay ban on cluster bombs. Reuters, November 30, 2017, accessed February 3, 2020 .
  9. ^ Cluster bombs and landmines in Kosovo. (PDF; 850 KB) In: icrc.org. Mines-Arms Unit - International Committee of the Red Cross , June 2001, p. 6 , accessed February 3, 2020 .
  10. ^ A b Cluster bombs and landmines in Kosovo. (PDF; 850 KB) In: icrc.org. Mines-Arms Unit - International Committee of the Red Cross , June 2001, p. 8 , accessed February 3, 2020 .
  11. ^ Cluster bombs and landmines in Kosovo. (PDF; 850 KB) In: icrc.org. Mines-Arms Unit - International Committee of the Red Cross , June 2001, p. 10 , accessed February 3, 2020 .
  12. ^ A b Cluster bombs and landmines in Kosovo. (PDF; 850 KB) In: icrc.org. Mines-Arms Unit - International Committee of the Red Cross , June 2001, p. 14 , accessed February 3, 2020 .
  13. ^ Civilian Deaths in the NATO Air Campaign - Appendix A: Incidents Involving Civilian Deaths in Operation Allied Force. In: hrw.org. Human Rights Watch, February 2000, accessed February 3, 2020 .
  14. ↑ a b Summary of Judgment for Milan Martić. (PDF; 135 KB) In: icty.org. Communications Service of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, June 12, 2007, pp. 6-9 , accessed February 3, 2020 .
  15. ↑ Cluster Bombs in Afghanistan - Human Rights Watch Backgrounder. In: hrw.org. Human Rights Watch, October 2001, accessed February 3, 2020 .
  16. ↑ AFGHANISTAN: UN to clear coalition cluster bombs , IRIN (Independent News Service of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs), January 2, 2002, engl.
  17. ↑ a b Campaigns and Actions - Iraq / The Terrible Price of War. In: amnesty.de. Amnesty International Germany, August 19, 2003, archived from the original on December 12, 2005 ; accessed on February 3, 2020 .
  18. ^ A b Bonnie Docherty, Marc Garlasco, Steve Goose: Flooding South Lebanon - Israel's Use of Cluster Munitions in Lebanon in July and August 2006. In: hrw.org. Human Rights Watch, June 24, 2015, accessed February 3, 2020 .
  19. ↑ a b Lebanon / Israel: Hezbollah Hit Israel with Cluster Munitions During Conflict. In: hrw.org. Human Rights Watch, October 18, 2006, accessed February 3, 2020 .
  20. ↑ a b c Useless cards . In: Der Spiegel . No. 40 , 2006, pp. 113 ( online - October 2, 2006 ).
  21. ↑ Casualties (civilian & demining) in South Lebanon from 14 Aug 06 to 22 Apr 07. (PDF; 45 KB) In: maccsl.org. UN MACC SL, May 2, 2007, archived from the original on May 24, 2007 ; accessed on February 3, 2020 (English).
  22. ↑ a b Reinhard Wolff: "Shocking and completely immoral". In: taz.de. Die Tageszeitung, September 1, 2006, p. 9 , accessed on February 3, 2020 .
  23. ↑ a b c d e f Georgia: More Cluster Bomb Damage Than Reported. In: hrw.org. Human Rights Watch, November 4, 2008, accessed February 3, 2020 .
  24. ↑ German for example: 'National Regulatory Authority for the Duds / Mine Clearance Sector in the People's Democratic Republic of Laos'
  25. ↑ a b c d e The Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) Problem and Operational Progress in the Lao PDR - Official Figures. (PDF; 2.7 MB) In: nra.gov.la. National Regulatory Authority for the UXO / Mine Action Sector in the Lao PDR, June 2, 2010, accessed February 3, 2020 .
  26. ↑ Secret War in Laos. In: legaciesofwar.org. Legacies of War, accessed February 3, 2020 .
  27. ↑ Jürgen Kremb: War scrap in Laos: garden fences made from aircraft bombs. In: spiegel.de. Spiegel Online, April 28, 2008, accessed February 3, 2020 .
  28. ^ Richard Moyes: A Study of Scrap Metal Collection in Lao PDR. (PDF; 451 KB) In: files.ethz.ch. Geneva International Center for Humanitarian Demining, September 2005, p. 16 , accessed February 3, 2020 .
  29. ^ Syria: Reports on the use of new types of Russian cluster munitions. In: hrw.org. Human Rights Watch, October 13, 2015, accessed February 3, 2020 .
  30. ↑ Continued use of cluster bombs in Syria and Yemen. In: nzz.ch. Neue Zürcher Zeitung , September 1, 2016, accessed on February 3, 2020 .
  31. ^ Josie Ensor: Russians 'caught out' using incendiary weapons in Syria by own channel Russia Today. In: telegraph.co.uk. The Telegraph, June 22, 2016, accessed February 3, 2020 .
  32. ^ Cluster bombs and landmines in Kosovo , Mines Arms Unit, ICRC , August 2000, rev. June 2001.
  33. ↑ Peter Strutynski: Cluster bombs violate international humanitarian law and the Geneva Convention AG Peace Research at the University of Kassel.
  34. ^ Website of the CMC .
  35. ^ Streubomben.de ( Memento of March 8, 2010 in the Internet Archive ), Handicap International Germany website, last accessed on November 30, 2008.
  36. ^ Cluster bombs ban: The most important manufacturer countries do not negotiate , Die Zeit of May 19, 2008.
  37. ↑ Signature conference website .
  38. ^ Convention against Cluster Munitions enters into force. In: ZEIT ONLINE, AFP, dpa. August 1, 2010, accessed December 19, 2010 .
  39. ↑ http://www.state.gov/t/pm/wra/c25930.htm .
  40. ↑ Marcus Mohr: Sales to a dictator in: Zenith, Zeitschrift für den Orient, April 20, 2011.
  41. ↑ MEPs urge states to outlaw cluster bombs , European Parliament website (November 19, 2008).
  42. ↑ Germany supports the ban on cluster bombs , Die Welt, May 28, 2008.

Web links

Wiktionary: Cluster munitions  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations
Commons : Cluster bombs  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files