A
cluster munition is a form of air-dropped or ground-launched
explosive weapon that releases or ejects smaller
submunitions. Commonly, this is a
cluster bomb that ejects explosive bomblets that are designed to kill personnel and destroy vehicles. Other cluster munitions are designed to destroy
runways or
electric power transmission lines, disperse
chemical or
biological weapons, or to scatter
land mines. Some submunition-based weapons can disperse non-munitions, such as
leaflets.