Only fraction of Australian arms exports revealed

Exclusive: Only a fraction of Australia's arms exports have been made available after questions from 9News about what was being shipped overseas, by whom, and to where.

In 2017, 177 permits were issued for 5,871 small arms at a value of more than $2million.

Earlier this week though, Defence told 9News there had been 2,189 export permits issued for military goods and technology, from October 2017, to October this year in an export trade worth more than a $1.5 billion a year.

Documents sent by the Australian Government to the United Nations, and obtained by 9News have shed new light on some of arms deals.

The Australia's Arms Trade Treaty report shows small arms were sent to 29 countries including the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Mongolia, China, South Korea, Indonesia, the Philippines, the UK, US and New Zealand.

But they did not specify, and Defence refused to answer, specifically what type of weapons were sent.

Small arms can include revolvers and pistols, rifles, sub-machine guns and assault rifles.

The majority were sent to New Zealand and the United States.

The full list is below

The documents show 177 permits were granted for small arms exports.

There were also 10 armoured combat vehicles, valued at $20 million, sent to Lebanon and Fiji. Three were sent to the US,  and another shipped to Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Poland and the UK for demonstration.

A large calibre artillery system was exported to Singapore, an attack helicopter and two missiles and missile launchers were sent to the US.

The release of the documents follows questions by 9News to Defence, and Defence Minister Christopher Pyne about Australia's arms export trade.

Earlier this week Defence refused to answer where defence material was being exported to.

These questions followed grilling in the Senate Estimates, over why weapons were being sold to Saudi Arabia when the UN had accused the country of war crimes in Yemen.

"We do not release the detail of the exports on commercial and confidence grounds." Tom Hamilton from the Department of Defence, told the hearing.

Greens Senator Richard Di Natale asked, "Are you concerned granting these export licences is contributing to the atrocities in Yemen."

To which Mr Hamilton replied, "Senator we are very concerned in relation to current events. We take them into account in our assessment of applications."

The documents released to 9News only include the 2017 Calendar year, and not any export deals or permits, granted this year.