Can you build a 鈥渟afe鈥� cluster bomb? That is the question facing military chiefs after a treaty banning the weapons was agreed by 109 countries in Dublin, Ireland, last week.
Cluster bombs scatter many small submunitions, or 鈥渂omblets鈥�, across a target area. The problem is that some fail to explode on impact and go on to kill or maim civilians who encounter them later.
Some major users of the weapons, including the US, Russia and China, did not sign the treaty. The US says it prefers a 鈥渢echnological fix鈥� to ensure cluster weapons hurt only enemy combatants. Indeed, some cluster bombs now include guidance systems to ensure they arrive closer to their targets, and fuses that make bomblets self-destruct if they have not exploded after hitting the ground. This is in line with one 鈥渇ix鈥� permitted by the Dublin treaty, which is that bomblets should either 鈥渄etect and engage a single target鈥� or self-destruct to prevent 鈥渋ndiscriminate area effects鈥� and unexploded remnants. The US claims its laser-guided BLU-108 weapon works in this way, leaving a 鈥渃lean鈥� battlefield. Each bomblet features a timer function which makes it self-destruct within seconds or even in mid-air if its heat sensors do not detect that it is headed towards a military target.
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Built-in radar is also being developed to make such bomblets self-destruct if they are not headed for something with the right shape.
鈥淲e鈥檒l have to see the actual effect,鈥� says Richard Morris of the pressure group Landmine Action. 鈥淭hese things always have a certain failure rate.鈥�
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