TrackWanted

Arms trail

Who arms whom: documented weapons transfers, mapped

TrackWanted maps 87 recorded transfers of weapons between governments — 18 supplier states, 40 recipients, $497B of published value. Every row comes from a public register, and each one records only that equipment moved.

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How to read the arms trail

Each row names the weapon system, the supplying state, the receiving state, the year, and where the record states them, the number of units and the value of the deal. The arc drawn on the globe joins the two capitals: it shows who supplied whom, not a shipping route.

Status matters. Delivered means the equipment has been handed over. Ordered and in delivery mean a contract exists and is being worked through. Export approved means a government has cleared a sale that may still change or be cancelled.

These are records, not accusations. Nothing on this board says a transfer was unlawful, or how the equipment was later used.

Open the live arms trail on the globe →

Recorded transfers

By country

Country pages collect every recorded transfer in and out of one state, with the registers behind each line.

Why this board exists

Weapons transfers are among the best-documented state decisions on Earth, and among the least mapped. Governments publish them — in export reports, sale notifications and UN returns — but the records sit in separate archives that almost nobody reads together.

The same aircraft that appear here also show up on the military aircraft tracker, and the money behind these contracts is the kind of movement tracked on the money trail.

Frequently asked questions

Where does the arms trail data come from?

Every row is taken from a public record: the SIPRI Arms Transfers Database, US Defense Security Cooperation Agency sale notifications, the UN Register of Conventional Arms, national export reports and the Kiel Ukraine Support Tracker. Each entry links back to the register it came from.

Does a line on the globe mean weapons were flown along that route?

No. A corridor joins the supplier state to the recipient state. It shows who supplied whom, not a shipping or flight route.

Is this an accusation against any country?

No. A row records that a weapon system was transferred, ordered or approved for export between two governments, as published. It says nothing about intent, legality or how the equipment was later used.

Why do some transfers show no value?

Many registers record the systems and units but not a price. Where no figure is published, the row shows 'value not stated' rather than an estimate.