A cluster bomb (or cluster munition) is a weapon that opens in the air and releases dozens to hundreds of smaller explosives called submunitions or “bomblets” over a wide area. These weapons are designed to destroy multiple targets, such as tank or infantry formations, but they are highly controversial due to the indiscriminate nature of their impact and the long-term risk posed to civilians.
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How They Work
- Deployment: They can be dropped from aircraft or launched from the ground via artillery, rockets, or missiles.
- Activation: The main container opens at a pre-set altitude, scattering the submunitions.
- Area Coverage: A single munition can saturate an area the size of several football fields.
- Types:
- Anti-personnel: Uses fragmentation to kill or injure troops.
- Anti-armor: Uses shaped charges to pierce vehicle armor.
- Anti-electrical: Disperses conductive fibers to short-circuit power grids.
- Incendiary: Designed to start fires using substances like white phosphorus or napalm.
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Humanitarian Concerns
- Indiscriminate Impact: Because they strike a broad area, they cannot distinguish between military targets and civilians, especially in populated areas.
- Unexploded Ordnance (UXO): Many bomblets fail to explode on impact (dud rates are often 10% to 40% in actual combat). These remain live on the ground for decades, effectively acting as landmines that often kill or maim children who find them.
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International Ban
The Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) is an international treaty that prohibits the use, production, stockpiling, and transfer of these weapons.
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- Signatories: As of March 2026, over 120 countries have joined the convention.
- Non-Signatories: Major military powers including the United States, Russia, China, Israel, and Iran have not signed the treaty.
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Recent and Notable Use (as of March 2026)
- Israel-Iran Conflict: In early March 2026, reports indicate Iran launched ballistic missiles (such as the Khorramshahr family) equipped with cluster warheads toward central Israel. These missiles reportedly released submunitions at high altitudes (~7km), making them difficult for systems like Iron Dome to intercept after dispersal.
- Ukraine: Both Russia and Ukraine have used cluster munitions during the ongoing war. In 2023, the U.S. began providing DPICM (Dual-Purpose Improved Conventional Munitions) to Ukraine to support its defense efforts.
- Historical: Extensively used by the U.S. in Southeast Asia (Laos remains the most contaminated country in the world) and in the Gulf War and Iraq invasion.
Apart from nuclear weapons, several categories of weaponry are considered equally or more dangerous than cluster bombs due to their indiscriminate nature, long-term environmental impact, or extreme lethality. [1, 2]
The following 20 weapons or weapon categories are grouped by their legal status and the nature of their threat:
Strictly Banned Weapons (By International Treaty) [3]
These are prohibited because they cause “superfluous injury” or are inherently indiscriminate. [4, 5]
- Biological Weapons: Pathogens like Anthrax or Smallpox engineered to cause mass plagues. Banned by the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention.
- Chemical Weapons: Nerve agents (e.g., VX, Sarin) or blister agents (e.g., Mustard Gas). Banned by the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention.
- Anti-Personnel Landmines: Explosives designed to be triggered by a person. Banned by the 1997 Ottawa Treaty.
- Blinding Laser Weapons: Lasers specifically designed to cause permanent blindness. Banned by Protocol IV of the CCW.
- Non-Detectable Fragments: Weapons that use materials (like plastic) that cannot be seen by X-rays in a human body, making treatment impossible. Banned by CCW Protocol I.
- Expanding (Dum-dum) Bullets: Bullets designed to flatten or expand on impact to cause massive tissue damage. Banned by the 1899 Hague Declaration.
- Poisoned Weapons: Arrows or bullets treated with toxins. Long-standing prohibition in customary international law. [2, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12]
Regulated or Restricted (Devastating but Not Universally Banned) [6, 7, 13]
These are legal under specific military circumstances but are often condemned for their impact on civilians.
8. Thermobaric Weapons (Vacuum Bombs): Use a fuel-air cloud to create a massive high-temperature explosion that sucks the oxygen out of the air.
9. White Phosphorus: An incendiary that burns to the bone and cannot be easily extinguished. Banned for use against civilians but legal for smoke screens.
10. Napalm: Thickened gasoline used in firebombs. Use against civilian-populated areas is prohibited under CCW Protocol III.
11. Bunker Busters (e.g., GBU-57): Massive conventional bombs designed to penetrate deep underground (up to 60m of concrete).
12. Incendiary Weapons: Any weapon designed to set fire to objects or cause burns; restricted in civilian areas.
13. Anti-Vehicle Mines: Larger mines designed to destroy tanks. Legal if recorded and monitored, but still leave long-term hazards.
14. Booby Traps: Improvised or manufactured devices triggered by unsuspecting victims. Restricted when attached to protected objects like medical supplies. [6, 9, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17]
8. Thermobaric Weapons (Vacuum Bombs): Use a fuel-air cloud to create a massive high-temperature explosion that sucks the oxygen out of the air.
9. White Phosphorus: An incendiary that burns to the bone and cannot be easily extinguished. Banned for use against civilians but legal for smoke screens.
10. Napalm: Thickened gasoline used in firebombs. Use against civilian-populated areas is prohibited under CCW Protocol III.
11. Bunker Busters (e.g., GBU-57): Massive conventional bombs designed to penetrate deep underground (up to 60m of concrete).
12. Incendiary Weapons: Any weapon designed to set fire to objects or cause burns; restricted in civilian areas.
13. Anti-Vehicle Mines: Larger mines designed to destroy tanks. Legal if recorded and monitored, but still leave long-term hazards.
14. Booby Traps: Improvised or manufactured devices triggered by unsuspecting victims. Restricted when attached to protected objects like medical supplies. [6, 9, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17]
Emerging or Unregulated Strategic Threats [6]
These are often considered worse than cluster bombs due to their potential for “uncontrollable” destruction.
15. Lethal Autonomous Weapons (Killer Robots): AI-driven systems that select and attack targets without human intervention.
16. Cyber Weapons: Malware (e.g., Stuxnet) capable of destroying physical infrastructure like power grids or nuclear plants.
17. Fuel-Air Explosives (FAE): Large-scale versions of thermobarics that can level entire city blocks (e.g., the US “MOAB” or Russian “FOAB”).
18. Environmental Modification (Geo-engineering): Weapons designed to trigger earthquakes, tsunamis, or weather changes. Banned by the ENMOD Convention.
19. Hypersonic Missiles: Missiles traveling over Mach 5 that can bypass all current defense systems, potentially carrying large conventional or cluster warheads.
20. Loitering Munitions (Kamikaze Drones): Drones that “hunt” an area autonomously for a target before crashing into it. [9, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24]
15. Lethal Autonomous Weapons (Killer Robots): AI-driven systems that select and attack targets without human intervention.
16. Cyber Weapons: Malware (e.g., Stuxnet) capable of destroying physical infrastructure like power grids or nuclear plants.
17. Fuel-Air Explosives (FAE): Large-scale versions of thermobarics that can level entire city blocks (e.g., the US “MOAB” or Russian “FOAB”).
18. Environmental Modification (Geo-engineering): Weapons designed to trigger earthquakes, tsunamis, or weather changes. Banned by the ENMOD Convention.
19. Hypersonic Missiles: Missiles traveling over Mach 5 that can bypass all current defense systems, potentially carrying large conventional or cluster warheads.
20. Loitering Munitions (Kamikaze Drones): Drones that “hunt” an area autonomously for a target before crashing into it. [9, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24]
[12] https://www.icrc.org
[24] https://www.epc.eu