
User Resources
Navigating a database can be challenging, but our user guide is meant to give you the resources to make things easier and ensure you’re finding the information you need. Here you’ll find guides to each of our data sets, a glossary of terms, info on how to manipulate pivot tables or download data, and more.

Glossary of Terms
When looking at U.S. arms sales or security assistance, it’s hard to avoid the government jargon. This glossary will help you decipher commonly used terms and acronyms to make understanding these programs easier. Here you’ll find quick overviews of common security aid or arms sales programs, explanation of acronyms, and definitions of commonly used phrases in security assistance and arms sales lingo.
Database Guides
Need help navigating our databases? Check our Database Guides for quick instructions and tutorials.
Our data comes from publicly available government documents, ranging from Congressional budget justifications to government reports. Below you can find details of where SAM gets the information that makes up our database.

Data Sources
Our data comes from publicly available government documents, ranging from Congressional budget justifications to government reports. Below you can find details of where SAM gets the information that makes up our database.
Citing SAM
For help citing SAM, visit our PRESS GUIDE.