Review and Analysis: United States Cluster Munitions and Unexploded Ordnance Left in Laos after the Second Indochina War

Cluster munitions release dozens of smaller bomblets that rain deadly ammunition on armored tanks, vegetation and troops, effectively striking broad areas of war zone landscapes in one launch. However, only about 60% of bomblets detonate immediately and those that fail to detonate fall to the ground and can lie dormant for years. The legacy of cluster munitions in Laos from the Second Indochina War is unexploded bomblets across the landscape that unexpectedly detonate years later, injuring and killing children, farmers, and other civilians long after the war is over. In Laos, the United States (US) military operation against the Ho Chi Minh Trail, a network of foot and bicycle paths, waterways, and truck routes along the Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam borders linking North and South Vietnam began in 1959. By the 1960s, as the war escalated, trail traffic was interdicted frequently by CIA and US Air Force using tactical herbicide spraying to defoliate dense vegetation and bombing to disrupt supplies and North Vietnamese troops dispersed along the 16,000-kilometer trail. Unexploded ordinance (UXO), including cluster munitions, from U.S. bombings continued in recent years to detonate, kill, maim and injure Laotians and render agricultural lands too hazardous to cultivate. The primary objectives of this study are to document: 1) the long-term consequences and impacts of the US Air Force bombing of Laos during the Second Indochina War (1959 to 1973);2) the United States removal of unexploded ordnance and cluster munitions;and 3) worldwide relief efforts to help the Laotians maimed by unexploded ordnance and cluster munitions.

Reversion of Bioluminescent Bacteria (Mutatox^(TM)) toTheir Luminescent State upon Exposure to OrganicCompounds, Munitions, and Metal Salts

Mutatox is a new genotoxicity bioassay which uses as the endpoint the bioluminescence produced on reversion of a dark strain of the marine bacterium Vibrio fischeri ±S9.Reversion can occur by several mechanisms, including base substitution, frame-shift, SOS induction, and DNA intercalation. For screening, Mutatox provides many advantages over the Salmonella trphimurium (Ames) assay: it requires minimal sterility, employs a shorter incubation period, and does not require culture maintenance. Eighteen organic chemicals (phenol, polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, nitrotoluenes, others), Na3PO4, and 4 genotoxic metals (Cu2+, Ni2+, As3+, Cd2+) were tested. Most of the organic compounds positive in S. typhimurium assays were positive in Mutatox. None of the metals was genotoxic in V. fischeri, possibly due to poor uptake from the saline medium

UV-A Coexposure Enhances the Toxicity of AromaticHydrocarbons, Munitions, and Metals to Photobacterium phosphoreum

Johnson et al. (1993) showed that coexposure to UV-A between 300-400 nm enhanced the toxicity of nitrotoluenes to Phoiobacterium phosphoreum, a marine bioluminescent bacteria used in the Microtox test (Microbics Inc.). This paper reports that UV-A photoenhanced the toxicity of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, other types of organic compounds, and some transition metals to P. phosphoreum. Coexposure to 400 μw/cm2 for 15 min increased the toxicity of psoralen, α-terthienyl, anthracene, acridine, fluoranthene,TNT, Cu2+, As3+, Ni2, and Cd2+. Phenanthrene was photoenhanced after 30 min coexposure at 400 μw/cm2+, and Mn2+ at 800 μw/cm2 aftef 15 min. Naphthalene was not enhanced at 800 μw/cm2 for 30 min

Performance analysis and design of loitering munitions: A comprehensive technical survey of recent developments

Loitering munitions are increasingly used in armed conflicts.An extensive database of loitering munitions is developed based on information available in the public domain.This database includes dimensions,weights,and performance parameters such as flight endurance and communication range.Based upon this dataset,6 categories of loitering munitions are identified and statistical trends in the form of equations are provided for each category.The statistical trends are supported by aircraft performance theory tailored to loitering munitions applications.Altogether,the combination of the database,statistical trends and aircraft performance theory can be used to analyse the flight performance and design considerations of new loitering munitions of which only limited non-technical information is available in the public domain such as pictures and news articles.Based on the statistical trends and aircraft performance theory it is concluded that for long range applications,the preferred design solution is the conventional configuration.The cruciform configuration is beneficial in case precision flight path control is of prime importance.The tandem wing configuration combines the benefits of a canister launch and relatively high aspect ratio wings suitable for long range flight.Finally,the delta wing design provides a large internal volume and a high terminal attack airspeed.Two example case studies are included to illustrate the flight performance capabilities of two types of loitering munitions used in the current conflict in Yemen(a long range conventional design and a delta wing configuration).

Numerical Simulation Research of Loitering Munitions Aerodynamics

Aerodynamics of loitering munition is studied in this paper.The aerodynamic characteristics of loitering munition with non-circular body and body-airfoil-empennage combination are calculated numerically at Ma=0.4 based on multi-griddings patching technology,in the range of angle of attack-4°-10°,and the analytical results were compared with those from wind tunnel experiments,they show a good consistency.Analysis of the results showed that the normal force generated by non-circular cross-section missile increases with the angle of attack.At α≥6°,normal force achieved by missile body can take up to 10% of the total lift.Together with the lifting surface,the loitering munitions can provide a better lift to drag ratio,an improved weapon range and a good longitudinal stability.

Cheaper Precision Weapons: An Exploratory Study about the HESA Shahed 136

The ability to hit a target with precision and from a great distance has been reserved for the world’s superpowers. However, this resource is increasingly being threatened as drones with this long-range and precision capability are becoming more accessible to those who don’t have this strategic ability. This article starts with an analysis of the Iranian HESA Shahed 136 drone to discuss the latest innovations in low-cost long-range precision weapons, specifically the use of kamikaze drones and loitering munitions. This is an exploratory study that starts by discussing the notion of a kamikaze drone and then analyses the design options for the Shahed 136, to reflect on the future of this new type of weapon and its implications for the economic and political relationship between weapon and cost. The conclusion is that the HESA Shahed 136 revolutionizes the concept of precise long-range strikes, a function that until now was reserved for expensive and technologically demanding tactical missiles and aircraft, and which can now be carried out with cheap drones. This creates an arms race not only in producing the most technological and precise weaponry but also the least expensive.

Insensitive high explosives:Ⅳ. Nitroguanidine-Initiation & detonation

This paper reviews the detonative properties of low bulk density(LBD),high bulk density(HBD)Nitroguanidine(NGu)(1),CAS-No:[556-88-7]and 82 explosive formulations based on NGu reported in the public domain.To rank the performance of those formulations they are compared with 15 reference compositions containing both standard high explosives such as octogen(HMX)(2),hexogen(RDX)(3),pentaerythritol tetranitrate(PETN)(4),2,4,6-trinitrotoluene(TNT)(5)as well as insensitive high explosives such as 3-nitro-1,2,4-triazolone(NTO)(6),1,3,5-triamino-2,4,6-trinitrobenzene(TATB)(7),1,1-diamino-2,2-dinitroethylene(FOX-7)(8)and N-Guanylurea dinitramide(FOX 12)(9).NGu based formulations are superior to those based on FOX-12 or TATB and are a close match with FOX-7 based explosives,the latter just having higher Gurney Energies(-10%)and slightly higher detonation pressure(+2%).NGu based explosives even reach up to 78% of the detonation pressure,82% Gurney energy and up to 95% of detonation velocity of HMX.LBD-NGu dissolves in many melt cast eutectics forming dense charges thereby eliminating the need for costly High Bulk Density NGu.Nitroguanidine based formulations are at the rock bottom of sensitiveness among all the above-mentioned explosives which contributes to the safety of these formulations.The review gives 132 references to the public domain.For a review on the synthesis spectroscopy and sensitiveness of Nitroguanidine see Ref.[1].

Parametric study of single confined fragment launch explosive device

In this article, parametric study of single confined fragment launch device was carried out. The configuration proposed was further studied to derive the empirical relationship for effect of fragment size,charge size, confinement thickness on fragment velocity. The simulations were carried out using ANSYSAUTODYNE explicit solver. Fragment velocities were estimated as a function of different parametric combinations of explosive quantities, charge length to diameter ratio, fragment height to diameter ratio,confinement thickness, fragment material and fragment mass. The data was further converted to charge to metal ratio under fragment and confinement. It was observed that, increase in confinement thickness,charge quantity and decrease in fragment height increases the fragment velocity. It is also noted that,charge to metal mass ratio under fragment significantly affects the fragment velocity. At the end, an empirical relationship for fragment velocity interms of all these parameters was established. Using these relations, two velocities 1831.92 m/s and 2523.9 m/s required for NATO STANAG 4496 IM test were estimated. The design parameters for these velocities are presented. Also, the results estimated using the empirical relationship has been compared with published experimental data. Error in the predicted velocities is within the acceptable range. The empirical relationship proposed will be useful for finalization of design of the fragment launch device.

Degradation and fate of 2,4-dinitroanisole(DNAN)and its intermediates treated with Mg/Cu bimetal:Surface examination with XAS,DFT,and LDI-MS

A novel Mg-based bimetal reagent(Mg/Cu)was used as an enhanced reductive system to degrade insensitivemunition 2,4-dinitroanisole(DNAN),a contaminant found in energeticladenwaste.Degradation ofDNANwas significantly impacted by dissolved oxygen and studied in anoxic and oxic bimetal systems(i.e.,purging with N2,air,or O_(2) gas).Degradation occurred through sequential nitroreduction:first one nitro group was reduced(ortho or para)to form short-lived intermediates 2-amino-4-nitroanisole or 4-amino-2-nitroanisole(2-ANAN or 4-ANAN),and then subsequent reduction of the other nitro group formed 2,4-diaminoanisole(DAAN).The nitro-amino intermediates demonstrated regioselective reduction in the ortho position to 2-ANAN;Regioselectivity was also impacted by the anoxic/oxic environment.Under O_(2)-purging DNAN degradation rate was slightly enhanced,but most notably O_(2) significantly accelerated DAAN generation.DAAN also further degraded only in the oxygenated Mg/Cu system.Adsorption of DNAN byproducts to the reagent occurred regardless of anoxic/oxic condition,resulting in a partition of carbon mass between the adsorbed phase(27%-35%)and dissolved phase(59%-72%).Additional surface techniqueswere applied to investigate contaminant interaction with Cu.Density functional theory(DFT)calculations identified preferential adsorption structures for DNAN on Cu with binding through two O atoms of one or both nitro groups.X-ray absorption spectroscopy(XAS)measurements determined the oxidation state of catalyticmetal Cu and formation of a Cu-O-N bond during treatment.Laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry(LDI-MS)measurements also identified intermediate 2-ANAN adsorbed to the bimetal surface.

Optimization and verification of wind tunnel free-flight similarity law for separation of cluster munition

In view of the separation form of the separator from the back of the carrier upward and from the side of the carrier outward, separation-safety research is carried out by taking the separation of a cluster munition as an example. In previous wind tunnel free-flight tests, the similarity law of vertical, downward, moving submunition was used to design submunitions at different positions in different initial-velocity directions, which resulted in large discrepancies between wind tunnel test results and real flight. In a wind tunnel test, each submunition has an independent time-reduction ratio with respect to the dispenser. Even if the separation trajectory of a single submunition is accurate, there will be errors in the position of each submunition at a given time. Therefore, it is necessary to determine the time-reduction ratio between submunitions, and to modify the test results later. In order to ensure the accuracy of wind tunnel test results, the similarity law of a freeflight test in a wind tunnel is derived in this paper. The time-correction scheme to ensure motion similarity between submunitions is solved. Numerical simulation is used to simulate the separation of a wind tunnel test and real aircraft, and the motion parameters of different submunitions are solved. The results show that the new similarity laws derived for different types of submunitions can greatly reduce the errors caused by previous similarity laws. In addition to the case for the separation of a cluster munition, the similarity law can also be applied to the free-flight test design of wind tunnels for vertical separation and horizontal separation of other kinds of aircraft.