Less-lethal weapons are designed to incapacitate their targets with specific, intermediate effects. When used inappropriately or with inadequate training, they can, however, inflict serious, even lethal, injuries.

Selected categories of less-lethal weapons include:

Designed primarily to engage and neutralize targets at distances well beyond a kilometre (half a mile), anti-materiel rifles are also used for anti-personnel purposes. The effective range for 12.7 mm and 14.5 mm anti-materiel rifles is 1,000–2,000 m: at the upper threshold this at least three times the effective range of a purpose-built 7.62 mm sniper rifle.

The fifth in the Small Arms Survey's series of Research Notes provides a brief overview of heavy machine guns (HMGs), defined as having a calibre between 12.7 mm and 20 mm.

These light weapons are man-portable, but are typically mounted on vehicles or ground mounts as an anti-personnel and anti-aircraft weapon. Effective against personnel; light armoured vehicles; low, slow flying aircraft; and small boats, modern HMGs are belt-fed, gas or recoil operated, air-cooled, and have an effective range up to 2,000 meters.

Craft production of small arms usually involves fabricating weapons and ammunition largely by hand, in relatively small quantities. Small arms made this way range from rudimentary single-shot pistols to advanced assault rifles. Craft-produced light weapons include man portable rockets and launchers, mortars and their munitions, as well as grenade launchers.

This Research Note is the second in a series from the Small Arms Survey which cover a range of categories of small arms and light weapons, as well as their markets, their users, and their impact on society.

Man-portable air defence systems (MANPADS) are short-range surface-to-air missile systems intended for attacking and defending against low-flying aircraft. Most are easily handled by a single individual and are shoulder-launched. This Research Note (updated June 2017) provides a brief overview of the weapons’ history and development, and lists incidents where MANPADS have been used in attacks on civilian aircraft.