Cluster munitions, frequently called “cluster bombs,” have an engineering history that dates back to World War II, when the German Air Force used the weapon against Allied civilian and military targets. As the name implies, cluster munitions are canisters of anywhere from a handful to several thousand small explosives which are designed to scatter widely and explode over a very large area. Unexploded submunitions, however, may remain dangerous for months or years after a battle. * * *Want to watch this podcast as a video? This Week in Engineering is available on engineering.com TV along with all of our other shows such as End of the Line, Designing the Future, Manufacturing the Future, and the Engineering Roundtable.