Light Weapons
The Small Arms Survey defines light weapons as mortars up to 120 mm in calibre; hand-held, under-barrel, and automatic grenade launchers; heavy machine guns; portable anti-tank and anti-aircraft missile systems; anti-materiel rifles, recoilless rifles, and guns; portable rocket launchers and portable rockets fired from rails. As of 2008, at least 51 countries manufactured light weapons, with 45 producing one or more complete systems and 6 additional countries producing components or providing upgrades for existing systems. Light weapons are used by militaries around the world and have proliferated widely among armed groups. The latest generation of light weapons is more lethal, more portable, and generally more capable than older systems, raising concerns about their uncontrolled proliferation.
Small Arms Survey Publications
-
Anti-tank Guided Weapons, April 2012. Research Note 16, Weapons and Markets.
Download (686.72 KB)
-
Larger but Less Know: Authorized Light Weapons Transfers, by Patrick Herron et al., 2011. In Small Arms Survey, Small Arms Survey 2011: States of Security.
Download (1.61 MB)
-
Anti-Materiel Rifles, June 2011. Research Note No. 7, Weapons and Markets.
Download (239.44 KB)
-
Heavy Machine Guns (including anti-aircraft guns), April 2011. Research Note No. 5, Weapons and Markets.
Download (311.67 KB)
-
Mortars, February 2011. Research Note No. 2, Weapons and Markets.
Download (293.56 KB)
-
Man-Portable Air Defence Systems (MANPADS), January 2011. Research Note No. 1, Weapons and Markets.
Download (401.72 KB)
-
Emerging from Obscurity: The Global Ammunition Trade, by Patrick Herron et al., 2010. In Small Arms Survey, Small Arms Survey 2010: Gangs, Groups, and Guns.
Download (4.76 MB)
-
Light Weapons: Products, Producers, and Proliferation, by Eric Berman and Jonah Leff, 2008. In Small Arms Survey, Small Arms Survey 2008: Risk and Resilience.
Download (2.95 MB)
-
Conventional Ammunition in Surplus: A Reference Guide, edited by James Bevan, co-published with BICC, FAS, GRIP, and SEESAC with support from the German Federal Foreign Office, January 2008.
More information
-
Basic Characteristics of Ammunition: From Handguns to MANPADS, by James Bevan and Stéphanie Pézard, 2006. In Stéphanie Pézard and Holger Anders, eds. Targeting Ammunition: A Primer.
Download (1.73 MB)
-
Military Demand and Supply: Products and Producers, by James Bevan, 2006. In Small Arms Survey, Small Arms Survey 2006: Unfinished Business.
Download (1.79 MB)
-
Unpacking Production: The Small Arms Industry, by James Bevan, 2005. In Small Arms Survey, Small Arms Survey 2005: Weapons at War.
Download (1.07 MB)
-
Locking onto Target: Light Weapons Control Measures, by Glenn McDonald, 2005. In Small Arms Survey, Small Arms Survey 2005: Weapons at War.
Download (393.06 KB)
-
Small Arms and Light Weapons Production in Eastern, Central, and Southeast Europe, by Yudit Kiss, October 2004. Occasional Paper No. 13
Download (252.08 KB)
-
Continuity and Change: Products and Producers, by Peter Batchelor and James Bevan, 2004. In Small Arms Survey, Small Arms Survey 2004: Rights at Risk.
Download (522.12 KB)
-
Big Issue, Big Problem? MANPADS, by James Bevan, 2004. In Small Arms Survey, Small Arms Survey 2004: Rights at Risk.
Download (294.92 KB)
-
A Sick and Dying Industry? Products and Producers, by Peter Batchelor, 2002. In Small Arms Survey, Small Arms Survey 2002: Counting the Human Cost.
Download (2.4 MB)
Other Publications
-
Federation of American Scientists. Missile Watch: A Quarterly Publication on the Proliferation and Control of Man-portable Air Defence Systems.
More information
-
Bonomo, James, et al. 2007. Stealing the Sword: Limiting Terrorist Use of Advanced Conventional Weapons. Santa Monica: RAND Corporation.
Download
