Armamentísticas

Armamentísticas is a field of study and analysis focused on armaments—weapon systems, munitions, and related military equipment—and the policies, economics, and histories that govern their development, deployment, and control. In Portuguese and Spanish-speaking contexts, the term functions as an umbrella for the discipline often rendered in English as armamentology or weapons studies. It encompasses technical, historical, political, and ethical dimensions of modern warfare.

Its scope includes the history of weapon design and manufacturing, the organization of defense industries, procurement and budgeting, and the logistics of supply chains. It also covers the international trade in arms, export controls, and arms-control regimes. Analysts study conventional arms as well as strategic technologies such as missiles, nuclear weapons, cyber capabilities, autonomous weapons, and space-based systems. The field also examines military doctrine, interoperability, maintenance, and lifecycle management of equipment.

Policy and law: armamentísticas engages with international law, treaties, and regimes aimed at limiting proliferation and reducing armed conflict, such as the Non-Proliferation Treaty, the Chemical Weapons Convention, and regional agreements, as well as non-governmental advocacy and humanitarian concerns. It considers ethics, risk assessment, and the impact of armaments on civilian populations and development.

Methodologies include historical analysis, comparative politics, defense economics, game theory, scenario planning, and risk assessment. The field is typically studied in political science, security studies, engineering management, and defense-economic programs, and remains relevant to policymakers, defense planners, scholars, and industry professionals.

With rapid technological change, armamentísticas increasingly addresses emerging domains such as autonomy, artificial intelligence in weapons systems, cyber warfare, and space security, raising questions about arms control, doctrine, and ethical limits.