In numerous court witness statements in prosecutions of anti-war activists over the last 4 years EDO MBM have always denied having any knowing involvement with cluster munitions.

However according to the MOD they are primary contractors in the MOD Air Launched Munitions (ALM) Integrated Projects Team (IPT) ' responsible for managing the level of in-service logistics support needed to ensure the operational and airworthiness requirements for air launched munitions and associated equipment within the 3 Services, and, where applicable, other nations.'

"In all, ALM IPT manages some 14 major weapons projects or equipment groupings and following the partnering contracts with Raytheon, MBDA, Portsmouth Aviation and EDO MBM works with approximately 20 industry suppliers.The IPT is organised into three programme branches plus three supporting branches." and "Air Weapons 3 is responsible for the In-Service management of CRV-7 ...through partnering arrangements with Portsmouth Aviation and EDO MBM."

 http://www.armedforces.co.uk/projects/raq46e13cc69905d

On 19 April 2008 Human Rights Watch reported:

'The CRV-7 cluster rocket itself is not guided, nor are the individual submunitions it contains. Moreover, the submunitions do not have any fail-safe mechanisms to lessen dangers to civilians. The UK recently noted that it has already withdrawn two types of cluster munitions from service because “neither system has target discrimination capability nor a self-destruction, self-neutralization or self-deactivation capability.” The same is true of the CRV-7."

 http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2008/04/18/global18603.htm

In yesterday's Guardian it was reported that the UK has no plans to scrap the CRV-7 despite the
approach of the upcoming anti cluster bomb treaty signing in Ireland.

 http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/apr/29/military.defence?gusrc=rss&feed=politics

Human Rights Watch says “The UK wants a special exception for its pet cluster munition rocket system, but those rockets can be as deadly as anything this treaty seeks to prohibit. By pursuing this exemption, the UK could weaken the treaty substantially.”

 http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2008/04/18/global18603.htm

It turns out that despite dropping plenty of other cluster munitions on Iraq and Afghanistan and then withdrawing some of these these from use after public protests, the UK armed forces are yet to use the CRV-7 on real people and so are reluctant to scrap it before they get the chance.

Meanwhile EDO MBM are at the heart of the MoD in-service team managing logistic support of the weapon and are clearly complicit in its continued 'operational and airworthiness requirement'.