Weapons of War

Weapons are a reality of war, but we, the general public, don’t always know exactly what is being used out there or the impact that these weapons can have.

Cluster bomb and Sub-munitions 

The M series of sub-munitions can be air dropped or fired by artillery. They are deployed by the US and British and have been used in Kosovo (NATO), Iraq and Afghanistan. They were used by the Israeli army in southern Lebanon as well, where they were carpet dropped to secure the border territory. The sheer numbers dropped will take at least 10 years to clear, making much of the grazing and farmland deadly to the farming families who use this area.

The BLU 97 is a US made cluster bomb, air dropped in an exploding pod that scatters up to 500 of them at a time. As with many sub-munitions, they can land randomly, often in trees or end up hanging on barbed wire fences. Because of their bright colours they are a curiosity to children who have been known to use sticks to unseat them from a branch, usually with lethal results.

PFM 

This is an Italian made butterfly mine, so called because it is dropped in its thousands from transport planes and, like a butterfly, spins and flaps thereby extending is distribution. Its activation is on a timer, after which it will lay on the surface, usually covered in dust. It is not designed to kill, rather to maim. The thinkings is that a maimed human being is far more burdensome to manage than a corpse if you are part of an army. In this respect, it is designed to undermine the logistical capability of the enemy. The shape and colour of the butterfly mine is particularly attractive to children.

Widow maker 

This is an Italian made anti-personnel mine, now banned under the Landmine Convention, although still in the ground in several locations and available in stock piles to insurgents in Iraq and elsewhere. When triggered, the explosive case inside is sprung just over a metre into the air on the end of a cable. It has a spherical blast radius, and contains over 1,000 pre-formed fragments. The so called widow maker earned its name because of its capacity to wipe out entire families – father and sons – when out collecting fuel wood or water.

L2/A2 grenades
 
A grenade is a small bomb filled with explosives, gas, or chemicals and is either thrown by hand or shot from a modified rifle or a grenade launcher.

The British Army grenades, in the picture here, show how just a few weeks of weathering can make them look inactive or even colourful, and so attractive to children. The timer on these grenades can be changed. It has been known for them to be left for use by the enemy with zero on the timer.