Small arms: Difference between revisions
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Revision as of 15:07, 26 May 2009
Small arms is a general term used by the armed forces to refer to infantry weapons, such as the firearms that an individual soldier can carry. It is usually limited to revolvers, pistols, submachine guns, shotguns, carbines, assault rifles, rifles, sniper rifles, squad automatic weapons, light machine guns, general purpose machine guns, medium machine guns, and sometimes hand grenades.
Small arms do not include infantry support weapons. In the US military, small arms refers to hand guns or firearms less than 20 mm in caliber, and therefore include heavy machine guns.[1] The NATO definition extends to "all crew-portable direct fire weapons of a calibre less than 50mm and will include a secondary capability to defeat light armour and helicopters."[2] Though there is really no civilian definition within the US, since any firearm utilizing a projectile greater than 1/2 inch (.50 caliber or 12.7 mm) in diameter is considered a "destructive device", anything .50 caliber or less would be considered "small arms". [3]
The term which encompasses both, SALW (Small Arms and Light Weapons), is used by some organizations which work to limit their proliferation.[4] For example much of the action of the UN to tackle the issue is raised in the UN SALW conference.[5]
See also
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Citations and notes
- ^ p.169, Marchant-Smith & Haslam
- ^ p. 189, Dikshif
- ^ Title 18 US Code 921 The 1/2 inch rule does not apply to shotguns, sporting cartridge big bore rifles (such as rifles chambered in .600 Nitro Express) or muzzleloading black powder firearms, many of which are larger than .50 caliber.
- ^ Conventional arms
- ^ UN Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) Conference
References
- Marchant-Smith, C.J., & Haslam, P.R., Small Arms & Cannons, Brassey's Battlefield Weapons Systems & Technology, Volume V, Brassey's Publishers, London, 1982
- Dikshif, P. Proliferation of Small Arms and Minor Weapons, Strategic Analysis, Vol. 17(2) May 1994
- Gould, C. and Lamb, G., Hide & Seek: Taking Account of Small Arms in Southern Africa, Institute for Security Studies, Pretoria, 2004