U.S. 1997 Data for the UN Conventional Arms Register

The UN Register of Conventional Arms, established by the UN secretary-general in January 1992, calls on member-states to provide voluntary submissions on their arms exports and imports, military holdings, procurement through national production and relevant policies during the previous calendar year as a means to promote transparency in armaments. States are requested to provide information on seven categories of weapons: battle tanks, armored combat vehicles (ACVs), large-caliber artillery systems, combat aircraft, attack helicopters, warships, and missiles and missile launchers.

U.S. data, submitted on May 29, reveal that Washington exported 4,759 weapons to 27 states (and Taiwan) in 1997, more than doubling the total of 2,342 items in 1996. Middle Eastern states, including Egypt, received 2,359 of the weapons, easily outdistancing Asian nations (1,377) as the largest importers of U.S. arms.

Missiles and missile launchers accounted for 64.5 percent of all exported items, with Israel receiving nearly half of these. Japan, South Korea and Taiwan also accepted large shipments of missiles and missile launchers.

For the first time since the UN register became operational, the United States included information on the type of equipment exported, but not the specific model. For example, Washington notified delivery of 16 F-16 fighter jets to Greece, but did not include whether the planes were A/B or C/D models.

U.S. holdings and procurements (see second table) show a drop compared to figures reported last year, listed in parentheses.

—For more information contact Wade Boese.

Region/Country	Battle Tanks	ACVs	Large Artillery	Combat Aircraft	Attack Helicopters	Warships	Missiles & Launchers	TOTAL
Africa								519
Morocco			60					60
Egypt		437			6		16	459
Asia								1,377
Japan			14				449	463
Malaysia				8			20	28
Pakistan				2				2
South Korea		3		12			344	359
Singapore							4	4
Taiwan	30			60	9		248	347
Thailand	101	63		10				174
Europe								931
Austria			42					42
Bosnia-Herzegovina			126					126
Denmark				4			44	48
Finland				13				13
Germany							36	36
Greece				19			270	289
Norway			6	1			66	73
Spain				1				1
Switzerland				19				19
Turkey		189		26			69	284
Latin America								30
Argentina				14				14
Brazil		14						14
Mexico						2		2
Middle East								1,900
Bahrain			49		10		4	63
Israel			16				1,502	1,518
Jordan	38		18					56
Lebanon		88						88
Saudi Arabia		159		16				175
Other Regions								2
Australia			2					2
TOTAL	169	953	333	205	25	2	3,072	4,759

Sources: Arms Control and Disarmament Agency; Arms Control Association.

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U.S. Military Holdings and Procurement Through National Production
Category	Military Holdings 1997 (1996)	Procurement 1997 (1996)
I. Battle Tanks	8,971 (9,976)	0 (0)
II. Armored Combat Vehicles	22,747 (22,731)	0 (0)
III. Large-Caliber Artillery Systems	9,879 (9,711)	117 (460)
IV. Combat Aircraft	3,919 (4,014)	21 (23)
V. Attack Helicopters	2,816 (2,717)	7 (20)
VI.Warships	347 (351)	5 (11)
VII. Missiles and Missile Launchers	121,666 (123,731)	1,231 (1,816)