Arms fairs are the trade exhibitions for military industry which are an integral and important part of the international arms trade. They happen all over the world, from Paris to Jakarta. Most of these happen biennally, and over the course of the two years there are more than thirty major arms fairs as well as numerous minor ones.

For the arms companies involved, it is above all a matter of maximising their opportunities to sell weaponry. Arms fairs provide them with a forum for marketing their goods and services, and an opportunity to discuss collaboration on military projects. Arms fairs allow the weapons manufacturers an opportunity to promote their products to all corners, including regimes in conflict and those with terrible human rights records.

The organisers of arms fairs attract their exhibitors by sheer number of visitors (and therefore potential buyers), and by the quantity and quality of invited delegations. Delegations from 'big markets' are the best attraction, in other words, those that spend most on military. These tend to fall into two categories; wealthy countries, or those engaged in arms races or internal repression.

All arms fairs are backed by the government of the country they are held in. From their perspective, arms fair can give an important boost to a country's arms industry.

Any formal arms controls are rendered meaningless by the thousands of sellers and buyers that come from around the globe. There are a number of arrangements and issues that effectively by-pass any country's official controls: Including the production of arms under licence. Also many weapons are purchased by one country and sold on to another. The UK has no formal mechanism for monitoring the end-use of weapons once they have been exported. UK Policy, as for most governments, is to facilitate, not restrict the arms trade.

The constant round of arms fairs oils the wheels of the arms trade, arms fairs are a key mechanism for the diffusion of arms across the globe.

DSEi- London's Arms Fair

Defence Systems and Equipment International is one of the world's biggest arms fairs and has been held in the ExCel centre in East London's Docklands since 1999. More >>

Clarion Events

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Arms promoters at the UKTI

The UK government plays a major role in pushing UK arms exports, including at international and UK arms fairs. More>>