US to Attack Enemy With Iron-Spraying Bombs Instead of Cluster Munitions

The United States is moving towards replacing cluster munitions with 227-kg iron-spraying bombs, Flightglobal reported.

The new Mk 82 Mod 7 bomb has a cast ductile iron warhead that disperses iron shards to target the enemy. The bomb has a lesser deadly force in comparison with cluster munitions, but it decreases the probability of unexploded ordnance in the area – the worst fact about cluster munitions.

According to Air Combat Command Gen Hawk Carlisle, the US still maintains cluster munitions on the Korean Peninsula. These weapons can be used in the event of a war between North Korea and South Korea, Washington’s ally.

The military needs 30 Mk 32 Mod 7 bombs for tests, and four delivery contracts may be signed with the manufacturer in the future.

Cluster munitions are either ground-launched or air-dropped explosives that disseminate a cloud of bomblets targeting vehicles and personnel. These indiscriminate weapons can blanket a wide area and thus result in unintended civilian casualties.

Moreover, some of the bomblets do not go off at once and become landmines, causing collateral damage.

The Convention on Cluster Munitions prohibits the use or transfer of cluster munitions, including the 420-kg CBU-105 bombs in the service of the US Air Force. Washington has not inked the document in contrast with more than 100 other countries.

In 2008, the US adopted a program on abandoning cluster munitions. The deadline is slated for January 1, 2019.