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Damien Spleeters is deputy director of operations at Conflict Armament Research. His most recent publications assess Iranian drones used by Russia in Ukraine and the supply chains that sustain these capabilities. He has previously written about improvised weapons and component supply chains in Iraq and Syria.
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WE TRACK WEAPONS
Weapons documented at the point of use, tracked through the chains of supply, boots on the ground, working in active armed conflicts to track the sources of arms and ammunition, up close & personal, in-depth weapon analysis: from small arms to major conventional systems, joining the dots, mapping weapon flows on car’s itrace global weapon reporting system.
Since 2018, CAR field investigation teams have carried out forensic documentation of the military equipment that has been recovered from armed formations of the self-declared Donetsk and Luhansk 'People's Republics' (DPR and LPR) in eastern Ukraine.
This report is the result of a three-year study into the supply sources of weapons, ammunition, vehicles, armour, and artillery used in the conflict.
Explore dynamic case studies and interact with the data from these investigations in CAR's Ukraine iTrace Resource Centre
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CAR investigation teams work on the ground throughout Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
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Our Dispatches from the Field are time critical mini-reports.
US, European Parts Found in N.Korean Missile in Ukraine: Report
The remains of a North Korean ballistic missile recovered in Ukraine contained components with the marks of companies headquartered in the United States and Europe, a weapons tracking organization said Tuesday.
The Conflict Armament Research (CAR) report indicates that North Korea is able to obtain Western components for its weapons despite heavy sanctions , and that those weapons are being used by Moscow in its war against Ukraine .
CAR investigators “determined that a ballistic missile produced by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) and recovered in Ukraine includes more than 290 non-domestic electronic components,” CAR said.
A @conflictarm field investigation team recently documented the electronic components of a North Korean ballistic missile recovered in Ukraine on 2 January 2024. CAR investigators documented over 290 components, mostly found in the missile’s navigation system.🧵 (1/6) pic.twitter.com/WxsedC18K6 — CAR (@conflictarm) February 20, 2024
Seventy-five percent of the parts were linked to companies incorporated in the United States, while 16 percent were tied to firms in Europe, it said.
“Half the components documented bore identifiable date codes, and more than 75 per cent of those codes indicated production between 2021 and 2023. Based on those production dates, CAR concludes that the missile recovered in Kharkiv could not have been assembled before March 2023,” CAR said.
The White House said in early January that North Korea had provided Russia with ballistic missiles and missile launchers that were used in attacks on Ukraine.
CAR said the missile its investigators analyzed was recovered in Kharkiv on January 2, 2024.
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Conflict Armament Research (CAR) is a project that investigates and tracks conventional weapons and ammunition in contemporary armed conflicts. Browse the latest publications on Islamic State weapons, diversion, illicit weapons in Afghanistan, and more.
Conflict Armament Research (CAR) is a UK-based investigative organization that tracks the supply of conventional weapons, ammunition, and related military materiel (such as IEDs) into conflict-affected areas. Established in 2011, CAR specializes in working with governments to find out how weapons end up in war zones, and in the hands of ...
Browse the archives of CAR's publications on illicit weapons and ammunition in various conflicts around the world. Learn about the origins, supply sources, and impacts of weapons used by armed groups and states.
CAR is a non-profit organisation that investigates the origins and use of weapons and ammunition in armed conflicts. Explore its dynamic case studies and data from Ukraine and Syria, where it has documented Russian, Iranian, North Korean, and other weapons systems.
Established in 2011, Conflict Armament Research generates unique evidence on weapon supplies into armed conflicts in order to inform and support effective weapon management and control. CAR field investigation teams document illicit weapons, ammunition, and related materiel in conflict-affected locations and trace their supply sources.
CONFLICT ARMAMENT RESEARCH Since 2011, Conflict Armament Research has established active field investigation capabilities to track weapons and military assistance supply networks in over 25 conflict-affected countries in Africa, the Mid-dle East, and Asia. Its investigation teams work on the ground in active armed conflicts alongside national
Established in 2011, Conflict Armament Research generates unique evidence on weapon supplies into armed conflicts in order to inform and support effective weapon management and control.
Conflict Armament Research (CAR) has determined that a ballistic missile produced by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) and recovered in Ukraine includes more than 290 non-domestic electronic components. CAR investigators, documenting missile remnants after an attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, found not ...
We track weapons: drone components seized in Ukraine, shotguns smuggled into Nigeria, explosive precursors in Syria and Iraq. These dynamic storymaps explore case studies of how weapons reach conflict zones.
Damien Spleeters is deputy director of operations at Conflict Armament Research. His most recent publications assess Iranian drones used by Russia in Ukraine and the supply chains that sustain these capabilities. He has previously written about improvised weapons and component supply chains in Iraq and Syria.
James Bevan is an internationally recognized weapon and conflict analyst and Executive Director of Conflict Armament Research. Specializing in the tracing of illicit weapons and ammunition in the world's conflict zones, he has nearly a decade of policy shaping field research behind him. Once a senior field researcher for the renowned Small Arms Survey, he has since worked as a United Nations ...
CAR investigates the supply sources of weapons, ammunition, vehicles, armour, and artillery used in the conflict between the DPR and LPR and the Ukrainian government. This report is the result of a three-year study into the supply sources of weapons and ammunition in the conflict.
The Russian Federation's use of Iranian-manufactured uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) in Ukraine represents a notable development in the evolution of the conflict. Conflict Armament Research (CAR) investigators physically documented a number of these UAVs in Ukraine in November 2022 and are conducting a detailed dissection of their design characteristics and key components, comparing them ...
Ukraine Field Dispatch, September 2022
A 200-paged report by Conflict Armament Research analyzed more than 40,000 weapons retrieved from ISIS in the past three years, finding cases in which the weapons were originally supplied by the ...
The Conflict Armament Research (CAR) report indicates that North Korea is able to obtain Western components for its weapons despite heavy sanctions, and that those weapons are being used by Moscow in its war against Ukraine.. CAR investigators "determined that a ballistic missile produced by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) and recovered in Ukraine includes more than ...
Ukraine Field Dispatch, January 2024
The UK-based Conflict Armament Research (CAR) released a report on Feb. 9 disclosing findings from a field investigation conducted this January. That investigation revealed that one of Russia's ...
Conflict Armament Research (CAR) Dubai, UAE 16 October 2023 GITEX Cybersecurity Conference. ABOUT UNOCT & CAR. CAR's Methodology Monitoring Documentation in-field Tracing Analysis Technical assistance. MAPPING THE GLOBAL UAS THREAT. OBJECTIVES:
Ukraine Field Dispatch, August 2023