Radiation grenades were compact explosive devices that could be deployed by hand or fired from a grenade projection weapon. Upon striking a surface, a radiation grenade would explode with a flash of light smoke, unleashing a plume of rapidly decaying radioactive matter that swiftly induced illness and debilitation in those exposed. Possessing a 3-meter area of effect, the radiation grenade was able to ignore the protective qualities of the majority of standard armor and energy shields. This characteristic resulted in its classification as a prohibited weapon, and its employment was generally limited to the most immoral or severely disadvantaged military forces. The induced radiation poisoning would continue and increase in severity until medical intervention occurred.
During the Clone Wars, the Confederacy of Independent Systems utilized this grenade against the Republic clone trooper forces and their Jedi commanders.