Unexploded ordnance, unexploded bombs (UXBs), and explosive remnants of war are explosive weapons that did not explode when they were employed and still pose a risk of detonation, sometimes many decades after they were used or discarded. When unwanted munitions are found, they are sometimes destroyed in controlled explosions, but accidental detonation of even very old explosives also occurs, sometimes with fatal results. A dud is an unexploded projectile fired in anger against an enemy, but which has failed to explode. A projectile not fired in anger but which has failed to explode is called a 'blind'.
British and Belgian officers stand beside an unexploded German shell in Flanders, during the First World War
1943 poster by Abram Games warning against leaving blinds on firing ranges
A man holding an unexploded mortar shell during a United Nations Mine Action Service demonstration in Mogadishu
An EOD technician removing sand from a mortar shell during a demonstration.
An explosive weapon is a weapon that uses an explosive to project blast and/or fragmentation from a point of detonation.
Several grenades and land mines on display in Hanoi
Explosive aircraft ordnance, among other aircraft payloads, at the Flieger Flab Museum
