How often does the military develop new weapons?

There is no way to determined exactly how often new weapons are developed by the military because much of that work is classified. The Department of Defense, or DoD, does have $1.5 trillion dedicated to weapons research and development, or R&D, and several divisions dedicated to that work.

Sometimes DoD uses private contractors to complete weapons R&D work. The DoD is required to list all contracts over $6.5 million publicly. Many of those contracts involve weapons development. However, anything that is classified or developed in-house is not listed. The primary areas of research are missile development; propulsion and structures; and sensors, guidance and electronics.