In spite of the startling technological strides in the field of weapons, and the resultant capability for nations to wage a ‘push-button‘ war, small arms still feature prominently in international conflict. Whilst it could not be reasonably claimed that most casualties in modern, mechanised war result from the use of small arms, these weapons still make a significant contribution to the carnage, especially in today's low intensity warfare. ‘In Vietnam, half of the US casualties were to bullets, mostly fired by small arms’. Small arms have found some employment in every international conflict, major and minor.