MAT - 120 The MAT - 120 cargo bomb is a Spanish produced cluster munition , fired from a 120mm calibre mortar produced by Instalaza SA . The main body of the round holds dual - purpose anti - tank / anti - personnel submunitions . The MAT - 120 submunitions are unique in that to prevent the dangers of unexploded duds , there is a double redundant feature the manufacture refers to as " self - destruction " and " self - sterilization " . This prevents unexploded MAT - 120 submunitions laying and around becoming defacto landmines , dangerous to both combatants and non - combatants . Description . In the late 1980s the Spanish firm Esperanza y Cia , which later became part of Instalaza SA , developed a 120mm caliber mortar bomb which contained 21 dual anti - armor / fragmentation submunitions , each of which weighs 275 grams and is 37 millimeters in diameter . What made the 120mm MAT - 120s submunition unique is the electrical impact fusing system which for all practical purposes totally eliminated the risk of unexploded duds from subsequently detonating . In addition there is no electrical energy stored in the MAT - 120 round during storage , transport and even at the time it is fired from the mortar tube , thus greatly reducing any risk of premature detonation . The MAT - 120 submunition ' s electronic impact fuse operates on a capacitor power source located in each submunition which is charged in flight after being fired by a wind generator located in the nose of the projectile . If for what ever reason the electrical fuse fails to function on impact , approximately 35 seconds later a self - destruction feature causes the submunition to detonate ; if the self - destruction mechanism fails , in approximately 15 minutes after impact the electrical charge in the capacitor bleeds out , therefore rendering the submunition ' s electronic fuse system inoperative , rendering the dud submunition inert , unless the capacitor is deliberately recharged from an outside source . The action of firing the round starts a timer which triggers opening the projectile , scattering the submunitions , which land in a random pattern between fifty and sixty meters in diameter . Upon impact the submunitions denonate , producing an armour - penetrating effect capable of punching through 150 millimeters of RHA and scattering 650 steel fragments out to a lethal radius of around 6 meters , and an effective radius of 18 meters . Within the impact area , the probability of hitting a tank - sized target directly is about 20 percent . History . Later a similar mortar round was offered in the 81mm caliber and equipped some Spanish Marine units . Following the signing the Wellington Declaration on Cluster Munitions , Spain withdrew the projectiles from its military units . It had destroyed most of its stockpile of 2 , 271 120mm MAT - 120 projectiles by the end of 2008 , retaining 419 ( and 390 of its ESPIN predecessor ) for permitted training and countermeasure development purposes . ( In its 2011 Convention on Cluster Munition submission , the Spanish government reported that the number retained had fallen to 366 MAT - 120 and 331 ESPIN ) The Spanish Government has refused all export licence applications for cluster munitions , including this weapon , from 11 June 2008 onwards although as of April 2011 it is still listed on the product page of Instalaza ' s website , In April 2011 , there were news media reports of Libyan forces loyal to Gaddafi using MAT - 120 mortar rounds against the besieged city of Misrata , although the Secretary of State of the USA , Hillary Clinton said she was “ not aware ” of the specific use of cluster or other indiscriminate weapons in Misurata . The markings on some of the remnants indicated that they came from the second and third production batches of 2007 . The British " Daily Telegraph " reported that the manufacturer stated that the weapons were sold to Libya in 2008 , prior to the Spanish Government ratifying the convention .