US declares to still maintain cluster bombs in arsenal

The Pentagon has revised a Bush-era policy that would eliminate old cluster bombs by 2019 and instead keep the weapons until a similar but more effective alternative is found.

The 2008 International Convention on Cluster Munitions was adopted at the United Nations and entered into force in October 2017.

Several countries are not party to the convention, including the United States, Russia, North Korea, China and South Korea. However, US Defense Secretary Roberts Gates at the time announced that the old cluster bombs would be gradually replaced with new versions with a failure rate of less than 1%.

Gates set a deadline of 2019 for the removal of all old cluster bombs, but concerns over Russian and North Korean artillery have now prompted the Pentagon to change its policy. There will be no deadline for replacement, and the US will keep cluster bombs in its arsenal and can use them at any time.

The US will still have cluster bombs in its arsenal ready for use at any time.

The "mother" cluster bomb contains hundreds of small bomblets, which when dropped will explode over a large area. However, if the bomblets cannot detonate on their own but remain buried underground, it will cause many disastrous consequences for civilians living in that area.

In order to maintain the ability to attack without using cluster bombs, the US military is now using missiles with fragmentation warheads launched from multiple rocket launchers. These missiles contain thousands of tungsten warheads that can penetrate thin layers of steel but do not have an explosive effect, eliminating the danger of the ricochet warheads of older cluster bombs.

According to ANTD