The Forum on the Arms Trade is a network of civil society experts and a point of contact for strengthening public efforts to address the humanitarian, economic and other implications of arms transfers, security assistance, and weapons use. The Forum provides a venue for bringing its community's wide-ranging expertise together to amplify and strengthen its work, while also offering government and media members a one-stop resource for the latest information, analysis, and best contacts. Forum-listed experts are located around the world and work on diverse topics including human rights, development, arms control, humanitarian disarmament, cybersecurity, arms and the environment, anti-corruption, and related fields.

Arms Transfers to Ukraine

More than two dozen countries have announced or delivered weapons to Ukraine. See our resource page to track continually updated developments. 

Notification Tracker

Recent FMS notifications: February 7 - Poland $10 billion for missiles (HIMARS, ATACMS, GMLRS)
2022: December 28 - Taiwan $180 million for Volcano anti-tank systems December 6 - Poland $3.75 billion for one hundred sixteen (116) M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tanks and other vehicles and ammunition; South Korea $1.5 billion for eighteen (18) CH-47F helicopters; Taiwan $330 million for aircraft standard spare parts and $98 million for aircraft non-standard spare parts  December 1 - Finland $380 million for 350 Stinger missiles November 29 - Qatar $1 billion for FS-LIDS anti-drone system November 28 - Finland $323.3 million for 80+ air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles  November 15- Switzerland $700 million for 72 Patriot missiles  November 9 - Lithuania  $495 million for 8 HIMARS launchers and about 200 missile pods Oman $385 million for 48 joint stand off weapons (JSOW)   November 8 - Belgium $380 million for 120 advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles (AMRAAMs) November 2 - Australia $6.35 billion for 24 C-130J-30 aircraft ​Finland $535 million for hundreds of warheads for Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems ... Calendar year 2022 total was nearly $82 billion worldwide   see resource 

Experts Publications

​Highlighting publications in which Forum-listed experts were involved. Inclusion on the Forum on the Arms Trade expert list does not indicate agreement with or endorsement of the opinions of others.
Erin Hunt, "To rebuild Ukraine, the world needs to help clear the land from mines" The Globe and Mail, January 30, 2023.

Elias Yousif, "U.S. Security Assistance to Ukraine: Where do we go from here?" The Stimson Center, January 30, 2023.

Michael T. Klare, "The Pentagon’s Quest for Academic Intelligence: (AI)," The Nation, January 30, 2023.

William Hartung, "Will the Debt Limit Fight Impact Pentagon Spending?," Forbes, January 30, 2023.

Michael T. Klare, "The Department of Defense Has Delivered Another Massive Intelligence Failure," The Nation, January 25, 2023.

Linsey Cottrell and Doug Weir, "EU Military Greening Politics: A Review of Transparency and Implementation," Conflict and Environment Observatory, commissioned by Greens/EFA in the European Parliament, January 24, 2023.

Rachel Stohl and Elias Yousif, "Over Promising and Under Delivering on Arms Transfer Policies" in "Hits & Strikes From Biden’s First Two Years," The Stimson Center, January 23, 2023.

Sam Perlo-Freeman, "UK Arms Export in 2021," Campaign Against Arms Trade, January 17, 2023.

William Hartung, "MLK’s anti-war views are more relevant than ever," Responsible Statecraft, January 15, 2023.

Jennifer Kavanagh and Jordan Cohen, "The Real Reasons for Taiwan's Arms Backlog - And How to Help Fill it," War on the Rocks, January 13, 2023. 

Jeff Abramson, "Mine Use Continues as Ban Treaty Marks Anniversary," Arms Control Today, January/February 2023.

Martin Butcher, "Fueling Conflict: Analyzing the human impact of the war in Yemen," Oxfam, January 11, 2023.

William Hartung, "Hawks blow a lot of hot air over proposed budget cuts," Responsible Statecraft, January 10, 2023.

Wilder Alejandro Sánchez, "Opinion – Rwandan Support for M23 Rebels Cannot Continue," E-International Relations, January 10, 2023.

William D. Hartung, "Will the Freedom Caucus Tank the Pentagon Budget?," Forbes, January 9, 2023.

Natalie Goldring, "Call for Restraints in US Arms Transfers to Ukraine" IPS UN Bureau, January 5, 2023.

William D. Hartung, "When It Comes to Defense, Money Isn't Everything," Inkstick. January 3, 2023.

Ray Acheson, "Abolishing Geopolitics and Building a World Without State Violence," Metapolis, January 2023.

William D. Hartung, "Rhetoric vs. reality: Biden’s foreign policy in review," Responsible Statecraft, December 29, 2022.

Amy J. Nelson, “The PLA’s Strategic Support Force and AI Innovation," Tech Stream, Brookings, December 23, 2022.

William Hartung, ”New Ukraine aid is a go — and it’s more than most states get in a year,” Responsible Statecraft, December 23, 2022.

Wim Zwijnenburg, “Risks and impacts from attacks on energy infrastructure in Ukraine,” Pax, December 21, 2022.

Ari Tolany, "The FY 2023 NDAA Falls Short on Security Assistance Oversight," Just Security, December 21, 2022.

Ivan Marques, “Brazil's gun control challenge: Ending the firearms boom," Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, December 20, 2022.

Kathi Lynn Austin "Bout’s release threatens global security; it’s also an opportunity," The Hill, December 13, 2022.

William Hartung, "Pentagon Profiteers: Executive Compensation In The Arms Industry," Forbes, December 12, 2022.

William Hartung, "New spending bill squanders billions on dysfunctional weapons programs," Responsible Statecraft, December 9, 2022.

Stephen Semler, "House authorizes $858B for the Pentagon," Speaking Security newsletter, December 8, 2022.

Jordan Cohen, “Preventing US weapons from escaping Ukraine is a challenge," The Hill, December 7, 2022.

John Lindsay-Poland, "Leaked Mexican army emails shed bright light on weapons trafficked, exported to Mexico," Stop US Arms to Mexico, December 6, 2022.

Rachel Stohl, "Twenty-five Years of Ridding the World of Landmines," Stimson Center December 5, 2022. 

Jeff Abramson, "Explosive Weapons Declaration Endorsed," Arms Control Today, December 2022. 

Magda Coss, "Gender Responsive Small Arms Control in Cities," Pathfinders, Peace in Our Cities, GENSAC, December 2022.

Alexandra Kuimova, Andrea Edoardo Varisco, "Illicit Small Arms and Light Weapons in Sub-Saharan Africa: Using UN Reports on Arms Embargoes to Identify Sources, Challenges and Policy Measures," SIPRI, December 2022.

Jesús Martínez and Wanda Muñoz Jaime, "Persons with disabilities in armed conflict," International Review of the Red Cross, November 2022. 

Bonnie Docherty, "The origins and influence of victim assistance: Contributions of the Mine Ban Treaty, Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and Convention on Cluster Munitions," International Review of the Red Cross, November 2022. 

Michael Klare, "What If the U.S. and China Really Cooperated on Climate Change?," Tom Dispatch, November 27, 2022. 

Kate Kizer, "Did anyone notice the US military bombed Somalia?" Inkstick, November 23, 2022.

Wim Zwijnenburg, "A Laboratory of Drone Warfare: The role and relevance of uncrewed aerial systems in the war in Syria," PAX, November 22, 2022.

Nicholas Marsh, "Consequences of the Invasion of Ukraine for Migration from the Global South," PRIO Policy Brief 12, November 2022. 

Bonnie Docherty, "Over 80 Countries Committed to Curb Use of Explosive Weapons, Now Comes the Hard Part," Just Security, November 23, 2022.

A. Trevor Thrall and Jordan Cohen, "Arms Sales" in CATO Handbook for Policymakers 2022, November 2022.

Ray Acheson and Allison Pytlak, CCW Report, Vol. 10, No. 11 including Acheson's "Editorial: Procedural Tyranny Continues at the CCW," Reaching Critical Will, November 22, 2022.

William Hartung, "If the Biden administration won’t hold Mohammed Bin Salman accountable, Congress should," The Hill, November 21, 2022.

Michael Klare, "Biden and Xi Skirt the Abyss," The Nation, November 17, 2022.

William Hartung, "Corporate Weapons Heaven Is a Hell on Earth," TomDispatch, November 17, 2022. 

Katherine Young, "Work to Protect Civilians Begins—Not Ends—at the Dublin Conference to Endorse the Political Declaration on the Use of Explosive Weapons," Disarmament Dialogue, humanitariandisarmament.org, November 16, 2022.

View the full list of recent and past publications featuring Forum on the Arms Trade-listed experts.

Annual Conference: February 16 and 21

This year's annual conference will take place on two separate days, with a virtual session on February 16 and two hybrid sessions on February 21, which may be attended in-person at the Stimson Center in Washington DC or virtually. Register now. See details.

Looking Ahead 2023

Experts look at an array of issues in 2023 related to weapons use, the arms trade and security assistance, often offering recommendations.

Find experts who speak...

US-Saudi Arms Sales

Biden administration arms sales to Saudi Arabia are again receiving scrutiny after it was announced that OPEC would cut oil production. To date, more than $4 billion worth of weapons and services have been notified to Congress for potential sale to Saudi Arabia. See page for latest developments, including statements and efforts by members of Congress, official government resources, and civil society assessments and commentary. 

Latest "This Week in Arms Trade Publications"

​Click image above for the latest collection of publications by Forum-listed experts, and other updates on arms trade, security assistance and weapons use. Sign up to receive directly via email and check archived editions here. 

Meet the Emerging Experts

Current program participants (mid-2022 to mid-2023) are based in Austria, Canada, Germany, Italy, Kenya, Mexico, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Meet them here.
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U.S. Arms Exports Under Congressional Notification Thresholds

Under U.S. law, Congress must be notified of certain potential arms exports when their value reaches a minimum threshold. There are, however, arms exports that fail to meet that threshold, and it is very difficult to assess the number and amount of such "under threshold" transfers. There is evidence, however, that the value of U.S. weapons delivered internationally that were not notified to Congress beforehand is in the tens of billions, creating a transparency and public knowledge challenge in understanding U.S. arms trade practice and its impact. (see resource)

Conventional Arms Transfer Policy

The Biden administration is revising U.S. conventional arms transfer (CAT) policy, with media at one point reporting a possible release in September 2021 and a policy placing  greater emphasis on human rights. This resource includes past policies, general policy recommendations from Forum-listed experts, and other relevant material. It will be updated as information about the new CAT policy becomes available.

Experts

in cooperation with our partner organizations and projects:
The Forum is based at the Arms Control Association. Partners are not responsible for the work of the Forum nor does
partnership indicate agreement with or endorsement of the opinions of other partners, listed experts, or resources produced by the Forum.