SMALL ARMS/LIGHT WEAPONS & CONVENTIONAL ARMS

• Destroying surplus weapons and munitions protects American troops, eliminates the tools of terrorism, and reduces the instruments of warfare and human suffering.
• Black market arms proliferation fuels conflicts, causing regions of instability that allow non-state actors and terrorist organizations to train and operate for future attacks.
• There are more than 640 million weapons currently in circulation globally, 8 million more produced along with 16 billion bullets every year.
• AK-47s and war material kills thousands in regions across the globe–the genocide in Darfur, the insurgency in Iraq, and rebel forces in Columbia, Sri Lanka, and sub-Saharan, Africa.

• Destroying surplus Man-Portable Air Defense Systems (MANPADS) and Stingers greatly increases global security by lowering the risk of black market proliferation to the enemies of peace.
• Over one million MANPADS are estimated to have been made in 20 countries, producing more than 30 different types of portable missiles with a range up to approximately 15,000 altitude and three miles.
• Eight U.S. helicopters shot down in Iraq in January-February 2007; MANPADS suspected in most attacks.
• In 2003, U.S. authorities arrested smugglers attempting to sell MANPADS to terrorists in New Jersey.
• One MANPADS attack against a commercial airliner could paralyze global air travel and cripple the global aviation industry.
• More than 40 aircraft have been struck by portable missiles since the 1970s, claiming 28 aircraft and more than 700 lives worldwide.