quote:
Originally posted by ladyzekke:
Well I've heard about those yellow food packages and cluster bombs. As Ronn Bman said, somebody is getting reamed big time right now for that! But I am still a big ignorant to what exactly a cluster bomb is. Obviously, it is not a bomb dropped that explodes on impact, or nobody would be worried about civilians accidentally picking one up thinking it was a food package. So how do they work? Timer? Remote? Just curious.
Actually, they
are suppose to explode on impact though I don't doubt there are timed versions (if there are, the timers are for seconds or minutes after impact to allow for further distribution). This is why the individual "bomblets" are wrapped in colorful covers. So when they don't explode, they will be easily noticable. Otherwise, they could be considered a version of landmines, which are illegal under UN resolutions, treaties, and laws.
Cluster bombs come out of the plane as big projectiles full of mini-bombs, each about the size and force of a hand grenade. At some point above the ground, to allow the "bomblets" to scatter over an area, the mini-bombs are released.
The mini-explosions over a large area are incredibly useful agianst "soft" targets, like troops, transport units, planes, fuel depots, etc., but less so against "harder" targets like tanks, and useless against hardened-bunkers and such.
These aren't used in cities, or intentionally, against civilians.