Military Operations: Information on U.S. Use of Land Mines in the Persian Gulf War
Abstract
Land mines in the U.S. inventory are of two distinct types: The first consists of conventional land mines that are hand-emplaced and are termed nonself-destruct, or sometimes "dumb," because they remain active for years unless disarmed or detonated. They can therefore cause unintended post-conflict and civilian casualties. The second type consists of land mines that are generally, but not always, surface-laid "scatterable" land mines that are dropped by aircraft, fired by artillery, or dispersed by another dispenser system. They are conversely called "smart" because they remain active for preset periods of time after which they are designed to self-destruct or deactivate, rendering themselves nonhazardous.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 2002
- Accession Number
- AD1157695
Entities
People
- Neal P. Curtin
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office