Most of the small arms in use around the world are actually quite old designs. For example, the AK-47, the world's most common battle rifle, has been in the field for over 60 years. The US M-16, arguably the second most common military rifle has a service life of over 40 years.

As a general rule, militaries are fairly conservatvie organizations and tend to resist changes. Addtiionally, once a product has been accepted by a government, political and comercial interests work to preserve the status quo.

None the less, new products are introduced; typically initially serving with special purpose units. Below is a selection of new weapons that are currently appearing on the world's battle fields.