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Destroying Cluster Munitions Stockpiles: the Italian Experience
Presentation by Palma D’Ambrosio, Deputy Permanente Representative of Italy to the Conference on Disarmament
ITALY and the CCM• The Republic of Italy signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 3 December 2008, ratified
it on 21 September 2011, and the Convention entered into force for the Country on 1March 2012.
• Under Article 3 of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, Italy was required to declare anddestroy all stockpiled cluster munitions under its jurisdiction and control as soon as possible,
but no later than 1 March 2020.• Law No. 95 mandated the destruction of Italy’s stockpile of cluster munitions, including the
expenditure of €8.5 million.
• We completed our stockpile destruction by October 2015, so withalmost 5 years in advance of the deadline.
What we destroyed
• Prior to destruction activities, Italy
possessed a total of 4,963munitions and 2,849,979 sub-munitions, as listed in the followingtable.
Type Quantity of munitions Quantity of sub-munitions
Destruction completed
BL-755 cluster bombs, each containing 147 Mk-1 sub-munitions
414 60,858 16 April 2011
Mk-20 Mod-0 Rockeye bombs, each containing 247 Mk-118 sub-
munitions
556 137,332 16 November 2011
MGM-52 Lance missiles, each containing 822 M74 sub-munitions
40 32,880 11 July 2012
Mk-20 Mod-11 Rockeye bombs, each containing 247 Mk-118 sub-
munitions
59 14,573 31 December 2013
M26 MLRS rockets, each containing 644 M77 DPICM sub-munitions
3,894 2,604,336 31 October 2015
Total 4,963 2,849,979
Who destroyed? • The demilitarization operations of our stockpiles were carried out by AGENZIA
INDUSTRIE DIFESA (AID).• The Agenzia Industrie Difesa (AID) is a public-sector body established with a view to
rationalizing and modernizing some industrial plants of the MoD (Law Decree 300/99).• It is an agency operating according to industrial criteria, under the supervision of the
Ministry of Defense.• AID’s organizational structure is composed of five Business Units:
- Explosives and ammunition- Naval Activities- Land and air transport- Chemical-pharmaceutical institute- Dematerialization
The Explosives and ammunition Unitoperates three plants:
BaianoFontana LiriNoceto
M26 Rocket• M26 is the basic MLRS rocket. It is armed with 644 M77 DPICM (Dual-Purpose Improved Conventional
Munitions) anti-personnel/anti-materiel grenades, which are dispersed over the target in mid-air anddetonate on impact.
• Manufactured by the USA firm Lockheed Martin, MLRS or the Multiple Launch RocketSystem is a rocket artillery system. The system launcher supports two pods, each housing six M26
rockets capable of being fired in rapid succession to a range of around 40km.
Components of a M26• Warhead 644 M77 sub-munitionsEach sub-munitions is made up of:- One fuse.- One copper liner .- One steel body that contains 30 grof explosive. A center core buster, which
contains 670 gr of explosives.
• Rocket motor Motor itself Igniter and FRRD
• Fuse(Remote Settable Fuse M445 - 1 grof explosive devices)
Flow ChartStorage facilities
POD transport to Noceto by Italian Army
Extracting the rocket from the
POD and Separating the warhead from
the rocket motor
Cutting and separating the rocket motor
from the warhead (Waterjet
technology)
Scrap metal recovery
Dismantling the warhead and Removing sub-
munitionsDestruction of Rocket
Motor propellant in the Static Kiln
Cutting and destroying the fuse Removing the copper liner
Destruction of sub-munitions in the Tunnel kiln
Flashing of copper liner in the kiln
Copper Scrap Storage
Scarp Copper disposal/reuse
Demilitarization/1• Extracting the Rocket from
the pod (FIG. 1,2,3).
• Cutting and Separating the rocket motor from the warhead (FIG. 4).
• Removing FRRD and Fuse from the Rocket (FIG.5).
As a final result of this stage, we have:- Fuses, FRRDs and igniters
(explosive devices) ready for thermo-destruction
- Warheads and rocket motors to be submitted to further operations
FIG.1 FIG.2
FIG.5FIG. 4FIG.3
Demilitarization/2• Dismantling the warhead
removal of the central core buster and extraction of M77 sub-munitions (FIG.6).
• Separation of the Fuses and removal of copper liners from sub-munitions (FIG.7).
• Explosive (contained in the steel case) is ready for destruction.
FIG.6
FIG.7
Demilitarization/3• The rocket motor is opened and cut
into different pieces thanks to water-jet technology (using high-pressure water and abrasive sand) (FIG.8,9).
• Solid propellant is extracted and reduced into pieces (FIG. 10,11).
• Solid propellant ready for thermo-destruction (FIG. 12).
FIG.8 FIG.9
FIG.10 FIG.11 FIG.12
Demilitarization/4Thermo-destruction Plant:
- Tunnel Kiln (used for explosive contained in M77 sub-munitions).
- Static Kiln (used for Central Core Busters,
Igniters and Rocket Motor propellant).
- Rotary Kiln (used for Fuses and FRRD).
- Abatement systemThermo-destruction line system for sub-munitions
Challenge 1/What’s after?1) Recovery, Recycling and Reuse• Scrap copper obtained from copper liners and scrap metals from the
warhead rocket motor and sub-munitions
2) Pollution control system (2 examples):
• Water used in the process related to rocketmotor this water is collected and filtered in appropriate facility, withthe aim to separate the solid part (abrasive sand and explosive sludge)from the liquid part (which contains oxidants). The solid part is destroyed inthe Static Kiln
• Thermo-destruction plant this plant is equipped with asystem for gas emission abatement.
The system continuosly measures emissions, which allows for real-timemonitoring and recording of emitted pollutants.
Example of Hermetic container for dust and ashes
from abatement system
Challenge 2/Safety and Physical Security
Strict implementation of the Italian legislation on the protection of
workers’ health and safety
The decommissioning/destruction techniques we applied for explosives
are an industrial demilitarization process No OP/OD
Implementation of all relevant quality management standards
Exstensive use of remote-control technology, which ensures the
safety of human operators in the most dangerous stages of the
process.
Lesson Learned1. Strong political will and civil society monitoring.
1. Significant financial resources invested in the process (8,5 million euros).
1. Availability of latest technology and up-to-date plants on the national territory.
1. Particular institutional structure of the entity which carried out the demilitarization: market-oriented, open to international competition but under the overall supervision of MoD.