Arms Dealer Defined

An arms dealer is an individual who sells firearms and other arms to individuals, organizations and nation states. An arms dealer can vary in mode of operation from a single business person to an employee of a large defense company.

An arms dealer may choose to sell off arms to military organizations, ranging from regular organizations such as the United States military to irregular groups such as guerrillas or to defense contractors. Selling arms can thus be provided for use in private settings, such as for self defense, or for the intentional use in a context such as a military campaign.

An arms dealer at a level generally considered modest for the overall arms industry might often be one who provides arms to private citizens, alternately in the contexts of legally registered usage or use in criminal enterprises.

On the other hand, an arms dealer can also function as an important component of the overall global economy. In this regard, numbers have been issued which indicate that, overall, military economic transactions occur, on a yearly basis, with over $ 1 trillion dollars in terms of cash outlay, including arms sales.

Moreover, a 2006 report specifically on arms dealer activities found that the industry’s hundred largest companies made around $315 billion in sales. As with most aspects of the economy, the arms dealer industry has been found to be responsive to the reduction in available credit in the context of the general downturn in economic activities, with a 2008 1/2 fall in sales in the United States.

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