Abstract: In order to help to solve the unexploded issue of cluster munitions, the concepts of self-destruction, self-neutralisation, self-deactivation and sterilization are described. The development and connotation of the concepts and their technical implementation are analyzed. For the “three-self” fuze of typical cluster submunition, the design method of “three-self” combined fuze is abstractly described in the form of block diagram. The safety and reliability of the “three-self” fuze of typical cluster submunition are analyzed with the experimental data and theoretically calculated results. The analyzed results show that sterilization is quite different from self-neutralisation and self-deactivation in connotation and implementation technology. The“three-self” combined fuze can be used to increase the comprehensive effect of fuzes. A self-destruction and self-neutralisation device should be integrated with a detonation interrupter if a combination design of self-destruction and self-neutralisation is used, and the self-destruction device should have a redundant safety control. In the combination design of self-destruction and self-deactivation, the redundant safety control should be used to enhance the security of the electronic self-destruction devices.

Key words: ordnance science and technology, self-destruction, self-neutralisation, self-deactivation, sterilization