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Introduction/purpose: During the 1999 NATO attack on Yugoslavia, three new weapons were used and tested for the first time. The first is the strategically invisible B-2 bomber, the second is the new JDAM (Joint Direct Attack Ammunition) and the third is the "soft bomb", or the blackout bomb, made of thin electrically conductive fibers. The aim of the paper is to present the new combat devices used during the aggression on the FRY and to quantitatively detect the elements of electrically conductive fibers. The paper also presents the lawsuit of the Federative Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague. The lawsuit was rejected. Methods: Physical and chemical analyzes of the fibers were performed. An electron microscope, SEM JSM Jeol 6610LV, was used to analyze the physicochemical characteristics of electrically conductive fibers. It provides the information on the morphology of the sample surface, resulting in a highresolution image.The microscope is equipped with an X-ray detector (Oxford Instrumets X-Max 20 mm2) for EDS analysis (Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy). It enables the determination of the chemical composition of the material in the analyzed sample volume, based on the interaction between the directed electron beam and the sample atom. Results: The characteristics of the B-2 stealth aircraft used to bomb the FRY are shown. The JDAM bomb is an improved ordinary MK bomb with electronic devices added to guide the bomb via satellites. A semiquantitative analysis of the fibers was performed on the SEM, confirming that the metal layer of the fiber predominantly consists of aluminum, and the non-metallic layer has the highest proportion of silicon dioxide. The fiber is carcinogenic. Conclusion: In 1999, the territory of Yugoslavia was a testing ground for new combat weapons of NATO aviation - B-2 and JDAM guided bombs. Blackout bombs were dropped on the electrical power systems of Yugoslavia leaving the whole Serbia without electricity for hours. Not only was the bombing-caused environmental pollution radiological and chemical but it was also caused by glass-aluminum electrically conductive fibers as pollutants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction/purpose: The paper presents the mode of operation of the CBU-102(V) 2/B cluster bomb, weighing about 340 kg and containing bomblets with electrically conductive fibers for disabling power plants. Methods: Physical and chemical analyses of the fibers were performed. The following test methods were used for fiber characterization: a binocular microscope for determining fiber thickness and a qualitative XRF analysis performed on an XRF-MiniPal spectrometer, PANalytical. The XRFanalysis aimed at qualitative detection of the present elements, which was confirmed by a quantitative chemical analysis. Results: The semi-quantitative XRF analysis determined the content of gallium (0.007%), the peak of which was detected on the spectrum. Gallium nitride is a material that can be used as a semiconductor. The chemical analysis was performed on an atomic absorption spectrophotometer Analyst 300, Perkin Elmer. Conclusion: The instrument for differential thermal analysis and thermogravimetry (DTA/TG), NETZCH STA 409 EP (operational range from 20℃ to 1000℃), confirmed that the sample was of 50% silicate origin, non-toxic and with heavy metal content in traces. The rest of the sample is aluminum whose presence in soil can cause decline in soil fertility thus leading to decline in crop yields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction/purpose: The paper indicates the radiation doses the military personnel of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia were exposed to, and in particular the military personnel of the motorized brigades in the territory of Kosovo and Metohia on the Albanian-Yugoslav border. Methods: Gammaspectrometry measurements have confirmed that round penetrators contained depleted uranium, and the presence of alpha, beta and gamma radiation was determined by the method of dosimetric measurement. Results: The use of ammunition with 238U depleted uranium, with added plutonium, pollutes the environment, water, and soil in the long term, causing various disorders and diseases, primarily malignant ones. The radioactivity of 239Pu, compared to its toxicity, is several thousand times higher and the inhalation of plutonium dust is harmful and causes cancer. Uranium is a pyrophoric metal, toxic, radioactive and easy to ignite. Its oxides are toxic and partially soluble in water. After ignition, the round releases radioactive aerosol particles which burn in contact with the air causing short or long term damage wheninhaled. In Kosovo and Metohia, a large amount of radioactivity was measured during the NATO aggression against the FR Yugoslavia. In Metohia, radioactivity was 1,100 times that of natural background radiation. Conclusion: During the war, the Army of the FR Yugoslavia was exposed to high radioactive doses, so that among the members of the army after the war there was an increased incidence of various malignancies, many of them lethal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of explosive devices containing energy enhancement additives such as halogen compositions, metals in a form of fine powders and waxes resulted in the formation of toxic gases after their detonation. The released harmful gases together with the products of destruction of bombed targets had the effects of special chemical warfare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]