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"[Arms Control Today] has become indispensable! I think it is the combination of the critical period we are in and the quality of the product. I found myself reading the May issue from cover to cover."

– Frank von Hippel
Co-Director of Program on Science and Global Security, Princeton University
June 1, 2018
U.S. 1999 Data for the UN Conventional Arms Register
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On August 11, more than two months past a May 31 deadline, the United States officially reported its 1999 conventional weapons exports and imports to the UN Register of Conventional Arms. This marked the first time since the register's establishment in January 1992 that the United States missed the submission deadline. A U.S. official attributed the delay to technical reasons, making clear that it was not a policy decision or a comment on the register. The U.S. government did not expect the incident to be repeated in the future, the official said.

Created to provide increased transparency in the global arms trade, the register calls on countries to voluntarily submit data on exports and imports of weapons listed in seven categories: tanks, armored combat vehicles (ACVs), large-caliber artillery, combat aircraft, attack helicopters, warships, and missiles and missile launchers. Countries may also provide information on their weapons holdings, procurement through national production, and relevant arms transfer policies. Typically, some 90 countries participate every year.

The United States reported 1,839 arms exports in 1999, a drop from the 1998 total of 2,700 (later revised to 2,713). For the second consecutive year, Europe led in U.S. arms imports, accounting for nearly two-thirds of the transfer total, while Asia took receipt of just more than a quarter of all U.S. weapons deliveries. The Near East, typically a leading destination of U.S. weaponry, accounted for only 79 imports spread among three countries—Egypt, Israel, and Saudi Arabia. Individually, Turkey led all 27 importers with a total of 315 weapons receipts, while Norway and Taiwan ranked second and third with 239 and 201 imports, respectively.

The United States imported one tank from France, two ACVs from Canada, and two ACVs from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

—For more information, contact Wade Boese.

Region/Country Battle Tanks ACVs Heavy Artillery Combat Aircraft Attack Helicopters Warships Missiles and Launchers TOTAL
Africa               2
Egypt             2 2
Asia               518
Japan     33       81 114
Malaysia             49 49
Singapore       9       9
South Korea   18 19       100 137
Taiwan 98     50   7 46 201
Thailand           1 7 8
Europe               1,202
Belgium             90 90
Denmark     4       72 76
Finland       25     160 185
Germany             4 4
Italy             33 33
Netherlands         10   104 114
Norway             239 239
Portugal       25       25
Spain       5 3     8
Switzerland             4 4
Turkey   140   20 7 6 142 315
United

Kingdom

        3   26 29
Middle East               77
Israel     16 4 16   14 50
Saudi Arabia   7   20       27
South America               15
Argentina       10       10
Chile           1   1
Peru           4   4
Other Regions               25
Australia     1 1 1     3
Canada             22 22
TOTALS 98 165 87 169 40 19 1,261 1,839

 

U.S. Military Holdings and Procurement Through National Production

Categories Military Holdings
1999 (1998)
Procurement
1999 (1998)
I. Battle Tanks 8,133 (8,599) 0 (0)
II. Amored Combat Vehicles 20,325 (20,978) 0 (0)
III. Large Caliber Artillery Systems 8,780 (8,919) 0 (0)
IV. Combat Aircraft 2,970 (2,970) 28 (28)
V. Attack Helicopters 2,502 (2,505) 41 (15)
VI. Warships 315 (329) 93 (9)
VII. Missiles & Missile Launchers 118,528 (120,951) 1,115 (0)