US Navy via Reuters, FILE<\/span><\/p>\n Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said Thursday he had no announcement to make about cluster munitions, but acknowledged they had been under consideration.<\/p>\n He explained that there are multiple versions of cluster munitions, but that the version being considered for use in Ukraine is contained in 155mm shells fired from US howitzer artillery.<\/p>\n There are different versions of these shells from different stockpiles, and the ones being looked at for Ukraine would not be older versions with higher failure rates, Ryder said: “The ones we are considering providing would not include older variants with [dud] rates higher than 2.35%.<\/p>\n He insisted that “we would carefully select rounds with lower failure rates for which we have recent test data” starting in 2020. And he noted that Russian failure rates for its cluster munitions are much higher, despite which did not provide an estimate.<\/p>\n Sending cluster munitions to Ukraine would provide “anti-armor and anti-personnel capability,” Ryder said, adding: “Clearly a capability that would be useful in any type of offensive operation.”<\/p>\n