conventional weapon
{{Short description|Weapons whose ability to damage comes from the explosive or incendiary release of energy}}
{{for|the My Chemical Romance album|Conventional Weapons}}
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Conventional weapons or conventional arms are weapons whose damaging impact comes from kinetic, incendiary, or explosive energy. They stand in contrast to weapons of mass destruction (e.g., nuclear, biological, radiological, and chemical weapons{{cite dictionary|title=conventional weapon|date=April 2010|dictionary=JP 1-02 Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms|publisher=United States Department of Defense |url= http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/new_pubs/jp1_02.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100814230117/http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/new_pubs/jp1_02.pdf |archive-date=14 August 2010|page=106}}).
Proscription
Conventional weapons include small arms, defensive shields, light weapons, sea and land mines, as well as bombs, shells, rockets, missiles, and cluster munitions. These weapons use explosive material based on chemical energy, as opposed to nuclear energy in nuclear weapons.{{Cite web|url = http://www.acronym.org.uk/directory/proliferation-challenges/conventional-weapons|title = Conventional Weapons|website = Acronym Institute|access-date = 7 March 2016|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160327202926/http://acronym.org.uk/directory/proliferation-challenges/conventional-weapons|archive-date = 27 March 2016|url-status = dead}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.nucleardarkness.org/nuclear/nuclearandconventionalweapons/|title=Nuclear and Conventional Weapons|publisher=Agence 3Cinq Inc.|website=Nuclear Darkness & Nuclear Famine|access-date=7 March 2016|archive-date=10 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310115201/http://www.nucleardarkness.org/nuclear/nuclearandconventionalweapons/|url-status=dead}} Conventional weapons are also contrasted with weapons of mass destruction and improvised weapons.
The Geneva Conventions govern the acceptable use of conventional weapons in war. Certain of the weapons are regulated or prohibited under the United Nations Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons. Others are prohibited under the Convention on Cluster Munitions, the Ottawa Treaty (also known as the Mine Ban Treaty), and Arms Trade Treaty.
References
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