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Munition is often defined as a synonym for ammunition. A narrower definition would include bombs, missiles, warheads, and mines (landmines, naval mines, and claymore mines) -- what munitions factories manufacture. These munitions are used on battlefields and war zones with lethal intent; unexploded ones may pose a hazard to civilians for years afterwards.

The Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) contains no explosives itself; it adds guidance capability to an attached gravity bomb, making it into a so-called smart bomb. The Special Atomic Demolition Munition (SADM) was a man-portable nuclear weapon.

Encryption software may also be considered a munition. Until 1996, U.S. government International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) prohibited the export of anything stronger than 40-bit encryption.

The United States Munitions List maintained by United States law and the Department of State Directorate of Defense Trade Controls lists 21 categories of munitions:

See also: AMMO (U.S. Air Force)